The Fortuneteller and a Nerdy Hanyou
by Emilyblood
Summary: Inuyasha is a CPA, wears thick glasses, and has woman problems that normal men can’t even imagine. Kagome is working at Club Miko, as well, a miko to pay her bills. Things get complicated when Kikyo asks her cousin for a favor concerning a certain jewel.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: Inuyasha is not mine.

Chapter 1 

Inuyasha growled again, thrusting his fists deeper into his pockets. Glaring at his friends' backs, he trudged along the dark alleyway. They weren't even at the club, and he could already smell it.

Having a sensitive nose wasn't all that it was cracked up to be.

Two blocks away, he could smell that the toilets weren't working properly, or that the bathrooms hadn't been cleaned well for sometime. Mixed in somewhere was a soft, flowery smell. It could be perfume, or a bathroom air freshener.

A block from the club came the aroma of unwashed human bodies. Not that most youkai smelled much better, but full demons at least had the ability to block out unwanted scents. As a hanyou, he was born without such capabilities.

When they reached the end of the line to get into Club Miko, Inuyasha was nearly blown away by the most frustrating of all scents: the human female.

The scent was like eating something with a rotten center. It started out sweet, even sensual—tempting—but the moment one reached the core, there was nothing more intense than the need to rid one's body of the putrid food.

Not that Miroku and Sango understood that.

Granted, he had to be fairly close to a woman to have the full effect, but that didn't mean that a nightclub was his idea of a good time.

They bypassed the line and came up the to front where the bouncer stood. Sango, with Miroku as arm candy, said a few words to the gate guard, shook hands with him—more than likely slipping him a bribe—and easily stepped passed the velvet rope. However, when Inuyasha tried to follow, the bouncer merely laid a hand on his chest, shaking his head.

"You've got to be kidding me! I'm with them," he shouted, motioning to the couple disappearing into the crowd. Not that he was so damn desperate to get into the club, but his ride home was with Miroku and Sango.

"Look buddy, I know the lady paid for you do get in, but man, we've go standards." He gave Inuyasha a raking over, taking in thick glasses, nerd-wear clothes, and pocket protector. Didn't the guy have in clothes to relax in? He looked like he came straight from work, and that work wasn't a particularly fun place.

"I don't give a damn about your club—but they're my way home!" Inuyasha barked back at the man.

"Maybe so, but I promise if you go wait in line, they'll come out to leave before you can get in." Smirking, he crossed his arms over his chest and looked down at Inuyasha.

He didn't get a chance to smirk for long, however, as he felt a tapping on his shoulder.

"Come on Carl, he's with us and you know it. Stop giving Inuyasha a hard time." Sango glared up at the guard, not intimidated at all by his size. Unlike Inuyasha, she was dressed to kill in strapless, formfitting dress the color of a dark wine. Her hair was pulled up in a high ponytail and her tanned legs practically glittered from beneath the diagonal slash of the dress's skirt as her high black heels accentuated them.

Carl also gave Sango a once over, but this time conceded. "If I get in trouble for this, you're going down with me, Sango," he grumbled as he lifted the velvet rope for Inuyasha amid the cries and moans of the waiting, better-dressed patrons.

Tucking Inuyasha's arm in hers Sango led him back to a waiting Miroku.

"You know, we wouldn't have this problem if you'd break down and bought some new clothes, Inuyasha," Miroku said with a small smile. "I swear, you get attached to one article of clothing and you have to practically pry it off your dead body to get you to change. What was is last year? That red jacket?" Inuyasha shot him a glare, but Miroku continued. "Didn't you sleep in that thing?"

Inuyasha only gave low growl in response. Sango and Miroku exchanged glances but paid it little heed. They knew that he hated places like this, and despite usually being sensitive to his wishes, they were a little worried about him. Six months ago, the hanyou had broken up with his only "long term" girlfriend, or really she had dumped him. He hadn't made an effort to start dating again, and was getting more and more wrapped up in his work. In the past month, he had stopped hanging out with him, and Miroku had a sneaking suspicion that he was spending his nights at the office.

So being the good friends that they were, they stalked him on Friday night (he didn't go home from work) and kidnapped the extremely cranky hanyou.

Now inside the club they were questioning their wisdom. A nightclub had seemed like the best place for a guy to pick a woman, but Inuyasha wasn't a normal guy.

Sango practically had to drag him along. If she hadn't had to pay the bouncer and then the cover charge, she'd be more than happy leave, but it had cost a pretty penny and Inuyasha was going to enjoy himself whether he wanted to or not.

Finding a table unoccupied, she sent Miroku off to the bar, and sat down for some quality advice time with her favorite half demon.

"Inuyasha, you have got to snap out of this. Kikyo had her good points, but deep down, the girl was a frigid bitch. You need someone one with…personality." She looked out over the dance floor, trying to scout out someone suitable for Inuyasha.

"I know, its just that it takes so long just to find someone I can stand to be around that it seems pointless to date at all." He looked so downtrodden for a moment that Sango almost reached out a hand to him, but then his head shot up, "I don't need a woman any way."

That was the Inuyasha she was used to.

"Are you sure Inuyasha?" Miroku said as he set down the three drinks he had balanced in his hands on their table. "At least with Kikyo you saw the light of day. If you have someone, it's a reason to leave the office. Right Sango?"

Sango had tuned out her boyfriend as the crowds had parted, revealing across the room a table set between two dancing cages. From the table, richly covered in a velvet tablecloth, sprouted a long line, or a line long for the circumstances. A girl was seated at the table, behind a large jar for tips. She was dressed in miko robes plus sex. Sango had never thought that the baggy costumes could be anything but prude and spiritual, but the club seemed to have other plans. It was either that the way the girl was carrying herself or the fact that her top had been cut a certain way, but she had to be the prettiest miko Sango had ever seen.

She was perfect for Inuyasha…only if she could pass the patented Inuyasha sniff test.

"Why don't you go get your fortune read Inuyasha? It might be fun." Sango broke in, ignoring a frustrated grumble from Miroku who must have been trying to make a point. She motioned to the table and the miko girl.

Inuyasha looked over, his ears perking for a moment. _Is it Kikyo?_ But flattened back to head as he squinted, seeing that she obviously wasn't Kikyo. "I don't believe in that shit anyway." He stirred his drink absentmindedly before downing it in one go.

"I'll pay for it, Inuyasha."

Inuyasha opened his mouth to say something, but Sango interrupted, telling him that he was going, grabbed his arm, towing him along behind her.

"I know what you're doing and its not going to work, Sango." Inuyasha straightened his suit jacket and pushed his glasses farther up his nose.

"We're just trying to get you to loosen up a bit, Yasha." Miroku said, coming up behind him. If they got Inuyasha out of the way, maybe he could get Sango alone for a while.

Inuyasha muttered something under his breath, but stayed in line. The flowery scent from earlier was back again, and he was curious enough to see where it was coming from. It had changed a bit, he had been mistaken—it wasn't a flower, real or imitation. The scent was something intangible, like a day in the clean air outdoors, which probably explained the floral scent. He had certainly had never encountered anything like that before.

They were closer to the head of the line, and the scent was stronger.

When they were next to go, it hit Inuyasha, the scent was coming from the girl, and then it all made sense.

Turning quickly to Sango and Miroku, he grabbed Miroku's arm. "She's a miko."

Despite it being one of the greater revelations of his life, Miroku, and Sango for that matter, seemed rather un-phased. "Inuyasha, I think that that's the idea," Miroku whispered, or at least did the best impression of a whisper that one can do in a club.

"No, she's a _real_ miko."


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: Don't own Inuyasha. Kudos to Rumiko Takahashi: you rock my world.

**Chapter 2**

Kagome squirmed in her chair, trying to get comfortable again. Not that she was ever really comfortable at work—there was only so much that she could do. She hated her job, but it paid very well for what little work she was doing. It could be worse.

A very tipsy girl stumbled to the front of the line and shoved her hand in front of Kagome's face. Her much more sober male companion stepped up, and leaning over the table to pay, whispered in Kagome's ear, "Tell her she'll get lucky tonight." Smirking, he slid away and in so doing, out of earshot.

Kagome flashed the man an eager-to-please smile and turned her attention back to the girl, who seemed to be having trouble standing up right.

"You are not in a happy relationship, are you?" She allowed her eyes to flick over the woman's palm.

The girl let out a nervous giggle and looked back over her shoulder at the guy. He flashed her the smirk again.

"I'm with, umChris, of course—" she hiccupped "—I'm happy!" Kagome new well enough how to look through a false façade. A date whose name was an um- anything usually wasn't a solid relationship.

"No, your not."

The woman faltered for moment and then nodded. "I just want for him to go away." She bit her lower lip. "But he won't leave. He's been following me all night."

"Here's what you do." Kagome leaned a little closer. "Go to desk, where you paid your cover. Tell them you need a ride home. Drink a lot of water so you don't get a hangover, and sleep this off. If you see this guy again, don't drink anything he gives you." She punched a button under the table, and a moment later she saw one of the staff appear in the crowd just behind "umChris".

"He'll follow me. He won't leave!" The girl hissed.

Kagome flashed her a smile, "I'll take care of him." Then raising her voice, "Tonight's your lucky night."

In the background, she saw Chris nod at her. Quickly she waved him over. "Sir, I'll just have to check this bill. If you'll stay by for a moment while I do a counterfeit test…" She pulled out the pen and marked a line over the money. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the staff member motion to the drunken girl and she gave the tiniest of nods. Good at her job, the club employee moved in, whisking the girl away to the safety of a cab. It was the club's policy to not interfere unless it was clear that someone was in danger. Usually it was the bartenders who saw people ladling alcohol down a companion's throat, but on occasion Kagome picked up a loser guy who had, surprisingly often, tried to pull a similar stunt.

With a confused expression, she held the bill up to the weak back lighting of her table display. "I can never tell which is right, but I guess this is," she held the bill up one last time, examining a little longer than need be. "It looks good, sir. You may go, and thank you for your patience." She flashed him another winning smile, which turned into a smirk as he began to search for the now long-gone girl.

There were some men that she was more than happy to scam.

It was bad enough that she had to use her miko powers in a place like this, but she wasn't willing going to aid a man like that.

She had worked at Club Miko for over a year and it helped pay for her tiny off-campus apartment, and food, and left enough for her buy textbooks. If she didn't have scholarships, Kagome wasn't sure what she would do. Probably work at the club full time…not that they would need a full time miko to give palm readings. She glanced over up at one of the girls in the cages, dancing in rhythm with the techno dance music, and inadvertently shuddered.

The next customer was stepping in front of her. Without looking up, she waited for the palm to be rudely thrust before her eyes for inspection.

It took a moment, but she soon realized that there was a slight argument going on before her.

"No, I told you no! I don't want to!" A man with long white hair and well, the geekyist glasses she had ever seen was vehemently trying to keep from having his hand pushed onto the table by a much better dressed couple. The man was practically hanging from his friend's forearm while the woman was shoving downward with all her might.

Still the geek with the glasses was just barley keeping his hand and arm off the table by a few inches.

Seeing that Kagome was looking at them with a rather confused expression, the woman gave her a tight smile under the strain of forcing her companion's forearm down. "He'd like to have his fortune read." Some how she moved her hand to drop the required fee on the table without her friend getting away.

Kagome quickly counted the money—she didn't want to be cheated. Seeing that they were paid in full, she reached out her small hands and took the struggling man's hand.

Instantly his arm went slack, allowing her to examine his palm without a fight.

"You have had trouble in love recently?" That was always a good starting question she had found. Even people in the best relationships could say that they had had at least some sort of lover's quarrel in the recent past.

Cutting her eyes upward, she saw him nod out a "yes".

God this guy was depressing. His shirt had food stains that he had been hiding with his jacket. His hair, though a beautiful white, was in desperate need of a brushing, not too mention that those glasses made his eyes look impossibly gigantic. The puppy ears on the top of his head were cute, but…was that a pocket protector?

Unless a woman was completely homely and broke off her ass, she would have broken up with him.

"Someone you cared about left you?" Best not to get into specifics just yet. "Left" could mean anything—dumped, died, ran away screaming.

He then tried to jerk is hand away, but being accustomed to drunks trying to escape, she kept is hand pinned to the table.

"I'll take that as a 'yes'." She beamed up at him. "And from the looks of things, I'd say that that someone was a girlfriend?"

"Wow, you're good miss," the geek's male friend piped up.

"Yeah, well he clearly doesn't have a woman," Kagome muttered under her breath. "And I would say that you haven't dated since," she finished her reading.

"That's about right," Inuyasha grumbled, finally managing to pry his hand away from the miko.

"Hey, aren't you supposed to tell him his future?" Sango pointed out.

"I was getting to that. You are falling into a slump. You rely too much on your independence, and it causes you to become too wrapped up in unimportant details. Take a chance to night. Keep your eyes and ears," her own eyes drifted up to the ears as she spoke, "and something could happen that might just surprise you." She flashed her "finished" smile, and waited for them to tip her and leave.

"That's it?" The white-haired nerd demanded.

Normally she would have offered an excuse for her reading, but it was late and she was sick of dealing with the inebriated and ignorant for one night.

"Yeah that's it. I'm a college student trying to make enough cash to meet rent this month. I've been here all afternoon and I'm beat." She glanced at her wristwatch, a tiny smirk appearing on her face. "And its time for my break." Reaching down, she plucked up her "On Break" sign and gently set it on the table. "If you'll excuse me."

She moved around the table and was making her way to the bar, when Miroku clasped a hand around her arm.

"Just a second, miss. Are you from the Higurashi Shrine?"

The angry words died on her lips. "Yes, I'm Kagome Higurashi."

"So when you're not pretending to be a miko, you're training to be a real one?" Miroku said with a raised eyebrow.

"If you believe in that sort of thing. And you are?"

"Miroku Houshi," he said with a small smile.

The recognition was instantaneous. "Miroku! Oh my god! I haven't seen you in ages!" She rushed in his waiting arms for a friendly hug. "How did your training go after you left our shrine?" Kagome asked, pulling back to look at her long lost friend.

"Fine, I finished last year…with Moushi. I started my own purification business about a month after I was ordained."

"You got ordained? I thought that would never happen." She paused to think for a moment, when suddenly something hit her. "Hey! You never told us you were ordained!" She pulled back her hand and smacked his arm.

"I know Kagome-sama, its just things got busy…" He flicked his eyes over at Sango.

Catching his meaning, Kagome turned to see Miroku's rather confused and slightly jealous girlfriend.

"You have a—a girlfriend?" Kagome stuttered. For a moment, Inuyasha thought that she was jealous, but then the miko flung herself at Sango, giving her a fierce hug. "How did you ever get him to settle down! At the rate he was going, he was either going to have a venereal disease named after him or live in the poor house because he had too many illegitimate children to support!" She released a barley breathing Sango from her grasp and gave the girl a once over.

Sango tried to recover herself, but found she could only glare at her boyfriend. He had never told to that he had had any training outside of Moushi.

Kagome however had already moved past the stunned Sango. "Let me grab a bottled water and we can do catch up. Do you guys have a table?"

"Yeah, I'll show you," Miroku offered.

"No, I can do it Miroku." Sango jumped in, putting her foot down.

Kagome looked on with a scheming grin. Not only had Miroku found himself a woman, but he found one that cared about him enough to be aggressively jealous.

Miroku was about to protest, but Kagome interrupted, accepting Sango's offer.

"We can get to know each other," she said, pulling his girlfriend away.

Once Inuyasha and Miroku had disappeared into the crowd, the two women turned to face the other. "How long have you known Miroku?" They said at the same time.

Sango allowed herself to smile and Kagome grinned. "I'm Kagome," she offered her hand. "Miroku was one of several transit kids in our home. Basically the time when the government is trying to decide if a kid should go into the foster care system or if there is suitable family. He stayed on a little longer that usual so he could get priest training."

As she had talked, they had reached the bar. When no one immediately came to wait on her, she banged her palm against the counter. "Kouga, I know you're down there. Stop fooling around and get me a water." Without skipping a beat, she turned back to Sango. "What about you?"

"Miroku had some underling demons that he couldn't quite get rid of, so he brought in my dad. My family is an old team of youkai hunters and I met Miroku on an extermination. We've actually talked about joining forces—"

"Hey Kagome," a wolf demon popped up from behind the counter. He looked ruffled and even in the dim light, one could see red lipstick covering the side of his mouth.

"Hey Kouga. Kagura on the _clock_ too?" She said as she plucked the water-of-the bottle from his hand. "Don't work too hard," Kagome waved goodbye. Kouga shrugged and dropped back below the counter.

"So, where were we? You were thinking of starting an extermination business with Miroku?" Kagome asked as she followed Sango around the dance floor.

"Yeah, he would get all the little nit-picky things and I would work the office and finances and get the occasional big demon." Sango called out, half over her shoulder.

"Why don't you?" Kagome questioned. She paused as Sango stopped, looking for their table.

"Oh, you know, it's a big decision." She shrugged and began to plow through a group of people, the tunnel leading them directly to Miroku and Inuyasha.

"Hey gorgeous," Miroku said when Sango slid up next to him, wrapping his arm around her waist.

"Hey, baby," she mimicked.

Kagome slipped onto the stool across from the happy couple and next to Inuyasha.

"Hi, I'm Kagome," she said, offering him her hand.

"I know who you are." He muttered, catching her off guard.

"You do? How?"

"You're Kikyo Higurashi's cousin." He spoke just loud enough so that Miroku and Sango wouldn't hear.

Dropping off the chair, he pulled his jacket closer, over the stained white shirt. He left the club, and it wasn't until he was past Carl the bouncer that he remembered that Miroku's car was his only way home.

A/N: Alright I wasn't even going to write any of these because in the past my mouth as gotten the harpies of fanfiction released on my ass in the past. Unfortunately, when I posted this I forgot to give some credit, so now here I am.

First, lets get one thing straight: DO NOT critique my author's note. I don't even read most A/N, so I was really surprised when people would mention my story in passing and then rant at me because of something I said here. I take it very personally. This is mine, its me floating out on the internet. I'm not writing the world though someone else's characters. This is my way to blow off steam, ranting about my personal life subliminally through comments about what I'm thinking about fanfiction. Summer is a very stressful and depressing time for me, and my very dirty mouth has a tendency to go its own way when I feel like I have an ear. I will more than jokingly berate my reviewers—its how I show love, don't take it personally. Once again, I post fanfics to be reviewed, NOT this shit.

Second, I AM A FUCKWIT! READ! READ! When I posted this, I was emotionally distraught by someone's comment, telling me that because of an A/N (See? The first part had a point) my shitty writing would be so much better if I had attitude adjustment, so I wasn't exactly thinking clearly. To prove it, I had just deleted two other fics out of misery.

ANYWAY, here's what you should read: I am not as original as some people have thought. I got the idea for Inuyasha's character while reading a fanfic by Fireminx: Seeing Double. Mainly I noticed how she gave Inuyasha his nose troubles, and I ran with it. She still had him as a hot toddy, but a sex starved hot toddy because as a hanyou he the woman had to smell right. And she had to pass a touch test, I believe. In her story, he did sleep around on human night, but I have a feeling that in my story, Inuyasha's going to be as pure as Kagome usually is. Any way, I'm not sure if Fireminx posts on (I don't do my homework that well) but she is at and I highly recommend checking out her work. Seeing Double is quiet fun…if you're of the age. Wink Wink


	3. Twist of the Blade

Disclaimer: Don't motherfucking own Inuyasha. Or the Smashing Pumpkins song used in this story. I think the title is simply "Rain" but I could be wrong. Anyway, its on "Machina: The Machines of God". I probably got that wrong to, but you know what I'm talking about.

A/N: All right, here's the deal, though very hypocritical of me, (because I hate when other authors do this) I have a proposition for you guys. See, I'm going to China for school, and to say I'm a nervous wreck is an understatement. Here's where you come in: whenever I get one of those little "Review Notifications" in my inbox, it like endorphins are released in my brain and it makes me happy, and in turn my stress level drops a little bit. I have the next chapter for this fic almost done—it just needs to be proof read and wrapped up and tweaked—so as much as it pains me to say this, if you guys get me 10 more reviews, I'll post it by Wednesday before I leave. If you think you can wait until the 20th of July for the raw-thrill continuation, I really won't care, it will give me more time to fit everything into my super small suitcase and study.

Got it? 10 more reviews by Wednesday morning, the 29th of June around 11:00, and you have Chapter 4. Otherwise, I'm going to focus on packing like I should, and that means no update for three weeks.

I'm really sorry that I have to whore my story out like this, but I need that happy-review-in-the-inbox high! Going from China to from my spit-on-the-side-of-the-road town is roughly the same as going to the moon. You'd be scraping for endorphins too if you were me!

Thanks to my past reviewers agent-doo, Charlie, and Bob the Fanatic.

**Chapter 3**

Kagome shrugged as she watched the man's retreat.

"Your friend is rather odd," she commented, thus breaking the lovebirds' reverie.

"Who? Inu…" Sango realized that he was not longer sitting in his corner sulking. "…yasha? Where'd he go?"

"He came to the astounding conclusion that Kikyo is my cousin and took off." She shrugged, sipping on her bottled water.

Miroku and Sango flashed each other a look and turned their attention back to Kagome.

"I knew you looked familiar…" Sango offered.

"I forgot you and Kikyo were cousins. You two look a like, but god, you have such different personalities." Miroku said, fiddling with his drink.

"And that has what to do with me, exactly?" Kagome looked at them, very confused, her eyebrow twitching a little. Kikyou wasn't her favorite topic of conversation.

"Kikyo was Inuyasha's girlfriend. She dumped him. Ugly." Miroku shuddered.

Kagome was thoughtful for a moment. "About—god—six months ago she confided in me that she was dating a hanyou. I thought it was odd—you know Kikyo, she's practically a separatist—that she would even start a relationship with anyone from the youkai community was completely out of character. Then a few weeks later, I asked her about it in passing and she said that things had gotten too serious so she had to end it. That must have been your friend."

"That would be about right," Sango muttered. "Inuyasha proposed and Kikyo basically said she wanted him to give her back the stuff she had left at his place. Very cold about it."

"He wouldn't admit it, but Inuyasha was fairly broken up about it." Miroku continued. "I'm surprised he stayed as long as he did once he knew who you were. He'd practically vanish at any mention of Kikyo right after it happened."

"I can understand. Kikyo has a tendency to be overly blunt." Kagome said.

"Do you know why she did it really?" Sango asked.

Kagome practically snorted out some of her water. "Why does Kikyo do anything? She went though miko training so she could have the title, but never helps at the shrine. She broke up with your friend because she was afraid of what it would look like for a miko and a hanyou to be together. Kikyo is very independent, but she always feels the need to put on a good face for people."

Sango looked down at her drink, "How sad."

"Like I said that's Kikyo."

Miroku looked down at his watch. It wasn't that late, but Inuyasha was probably cold outside. Saying as much, Sango nodded.

"You want come back to our place, Kagome?" Miroku offered. "You can meet Inuyasha and show him that not all members of the Higurashi family are frigid bitches."

"Alright, I'll go tell my manager that I'm going. She shouldn't mind, I don't get too many customers this time of night anyway. I'll meet you guys in the lobby?"

"She's cute," Sango commented as soon as Kagome had headed off.

"Yeah, she'd do Inuyasha some good." Miroku seconded under the watchful eye of his girlfriend. When Sango only raised a brow at him, he hurried on, while at the same time leading them to the door. "Look, we only under the same roof when we were kids, and after that, only at holidays and festivals. Her grandfather started my training and Kagome was somewhat of my comrade in arms during that." Sango nodded, but still looked suspicious. "I haven't talked to her or her family in more than three years and I swear she's like my little sister!" He raised his palms defensively, walking through the lobby door that Sango opened for him. "And besides, Kagome isn't like me."

"Alright, that's fine," Sango grinned. She liked to see him flustered when she grilled him over past relationships. Though with Miroku, they were more like past flings. He, the ladies man, could get the cutest little blush when he thought she was going to get angry and he was trying to dig himself out of a hole.

"Ready to go?" Kagome asked, stepping up to them as she exited the club.

"Sure."

Once outside, Kagome made to turn to the right, while Sango and Miroku looked to go left.

"Oh, I'm parked in the staff lot," she motioned.

"And we're about three blocks away." Miroku sighed.

"Well, I can give you guys a ride to your car, and then I can follow you."

They turned toward the staff lot with Kagome leading a few steps ahead, and had just passed through the gate when someone stepped in front of their path. Next thing Kagome knew, she had been lifted off her feet by a pair of hands gripping the front of her jacket, was spun around, and her back was roughly pushed against the chain-link fence that surrounded the parking lot.

"You were the one who sent her away!" A somewhat inebriated voice slurred in her face.

Miroku and Sango were quick to move, but as soon as they had their bearings enough to try to pull the guy off Kagome, the attacker saw them. Reaching behind him, he raised his hand, pointing the open palm and fingers at them. It was instantaneous: Sango and Miroku were thrown backward through air as though someone or something with super human strength had shoved them. The landed heavily, skidding to a stop on the ground. Neither Miroku nor Sango moved, both seeming to have fallen into a deep sleep.

With them out of the way, the man tightened his grip on Kagome. As his nails dug into her skin, she cried out.

"Help! Somebody HELP! HEL—"

His hand moved from her jacket to her throat, hoisting her farther up the fence, and cutting off her vocal chords. He was strangling her and her friends still laid stunned on the ground.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

_The stars were out, the moon was rising: all in all it was rather a romantic setting. On the river, a cruise ship rippled its way through the blackened waters. On the ship's deck lights were strung out, lighting the tables of the boat's patrons who were enjoying a late night dinner._

_Inuyasha finished with his food and placed the utensils he had been using over his plate. One of his hands snaked under the table and he fiddled with something in his pocket._

_Waiting for dessert, he practically broke out into a sweat. He had to keep pushing up his thick glasses up as the sweat kept them sliding down._

_Were all men so nervous?_

_Being so preoccupied with what was to come, he didn't notice the angry looks his date continuously gave him. If he had been paying attention, he would have picked up on her bitter indifference to all that was going around her, including him. Maybe he would have picked up on the fact that she looked fairly seasick._

_Finally, the dessert came, was consumed, and the last of the plates were cleared away._

_Was this the right time? Maybe he should have gone with his gut and done is before dessert._

_Too late now…_

"_Kikyo, I have something to ask you."_

_That seemed like a good start._

"_Can't it wait, Inuyasha? I'm kinda tired."_

"_It will only take a second, Kikyo. I've been planning this for some time…" He let his words set in. Hope flitted in his eyes._

_Kikyo's eyes went wide, flashing with panic. Quickly, though, her face reset itself, going back to its previous bored expression._

"_Inuyasha? Are you proposing?" Her voice took on a playful, toying quality._

_The hanyou could only gulp and nod. This was it._

_He made a move to get one knee, but Kikyo stopped him. "Don't."_

"_I—"_

"_I'm not going to marry you, Inuyasha."_

_Inuyasha felt like someone had just punched him in the gut. His insides were tightening around themselves—he was going to be sick._

"_If you're proposing, this has gone way to far." She looked him directly in the eye, her voice monotone, but no more than usual. "I was going to break up with you, but you invited me to such a nice place, I couldn't resist. I guess I should have known."_

_The boat gave a lurch as it docked._

"_Goodbye, Inuyasha. I'll get a taxi home. Tomorrow, I'll bring you the things you left at my house…please get what I left at your place together. I don't want to have to search for it."_

"_W-why?" Was all he could get out as she turned to leave, but it was enough to stop her._

"_Why don't I want to marry you?" Her head cocked to one side as she continued calmly. "Inuyasha, you are a hanyou. I am a miko. I guess I always thought it was obvious that this was temporary, that nothing would come of it." She paused, realizing she might be coming off to hard. "I have enjoyed our time together…I'll see you around, Inuyasha."_

_And with that she was gone. The wind twisting in her hair, her skirts swishing as she walked; Kikyo was gone._

_Inuyasha stared at the place where she had just been sitting, wondering if it had really just happened._

_He still had the ring in his pocket, it must be._

_He nodded his head slowly._

_It was over._

_Inuyasha exited the boat. He didn't see Kikyo in the parking lot, or in the street as he drove away. She would come by tomorrow and get the things that he would carefully pack up, and that would be that. He'd have to give the ring back to Sesshomaru for safekeeping, it was one of the Takahashi heirlooms. Both their mothers had worn it, but Sesshomaru hadn't wanted to use it when he wed, so it had been passed down to Inuyasha. He had wanted his bride to wear his mother's ring, but after as well as this night had gone…_

_He climbed out of his car, locking it behind him._

_Taking the stairs to his apartment two at a time, he hurried in and locked the door, shutting out the rest of the world._

_In a matter of five minutes, he had stripped the place of pictures of Kikyo, taking note for the first time how few of the pictures were of them together. When the photos did have both of them there, they weren't touching—or rather she did seemed to be making an effort not to touch him. He would have his arm on her waist, but Kikyo posed as she did in the ones that had her solo._

_Inuyasha crumpled up the photographs and burned the midnight oil to give the apartment a once over. As he worked, he opened a bottle of wine, in the back of his mind registering that he had been saving it for tonight._

_So he could celebrate. With Kikyo._

_In the end, he found all he had was a box of un-personal garbage: a sweater he had bought her that she had worn once, a book he had given her for her birthday but had never read, a locket he had…_

_He kicked the box at the door once his mind had pieced together the worrying trend._

_Downing the last of the wine, he passed out on the sofa with an infomercial blaring along with the Smashing Pumpkins._

"_Rain falls on everyone. The same old rain…"_

_XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX_

Inuyasha scrunched his eyes closed. Damn Kikyo's cousin looked like her. It was unnerving as hell: bad enough to drag forth all the memories of Kikyo that he had been trying to get rid of for the past six months.

He was lying on the roof of Sango's car, waiting for them to get back.

Just when he thought he could stop sleeping in the office, this had to happen. It was almost as if he had ran into Kikyo herself.

Except her cousin could smile and had friends.

Rolling over onto his stomach, he propped his head up with his hands, looking out into the night. Things were calm and quiet. The only sounds were the cars from a distant street and the thumping base beat from the club.

Suddenly the stillness was disrupted by a shriek that cut through the quiet. Flipping over and sitting up, Inuyasha pivoted his ears to the sound just in time to hear another scream before it was violently cut off.

In an instant, Inuyasha was up and leaping through the air, following the sound of the cries. He landed in a parking lot and was just in time to see Kagome go slack in the attacker's grasp.

**A/N: **I know, I did it again, I fell in to the Kikyou bashing trap. I have said it before, and I will say it again: I like Kikyou. She's a cool character, especially in the black miko episodes when she does the awesome bow-deflection trip. She's just an easy character to be the frigid bitch. My apologies to Kikyou.


	4. In Sheep's Wool

Disclaimer: Inuyasha be not mine. Ouch. Fuck Yoda.

**Reviewers: **agent-doo: yes, Inuyasha is very much in a need of a hug. Don't worry, I think he'll get one. As far as umChris, this chapter will answer that question.

Deadly Tears: Do you really love it, because I could totally hook you guys up. Sorry, middle school humor kicked in for a moment.

Little-Black-Magic-Witch: Though I considered your offer, as you can see I broke under pressure.

Kag-15-neko: Yes, I like Kikyou. It may be more of a pet peeve of people who bash her. She can't help she was resurrected and she was nice enough when she was living. Still, I guess I don't like her enough to write a fanfic where she's in the lead. If nothing else, she's and interesting character.

**Chapter 4**

Kagome's throat was burning, her head was buzzing, and her ears and eyes felt as though they were going to explode. She could feel herself weakening, how much longer she would last was certainly limited. It was then that somewhere in back of her mind, an idea flashed by. Letting her body go slack, Kagome prayed that her attacker would think that she was gone.

It seemed to work for a moment—he relaxed his grip on her and, for a that instant, Kagome thought that would let her go.

But he didn't. He still had her in a chokehold, and though a tiny bit of air could now get to her lungs, it was hardly enough.

Things were really going black now. She was going to die like this, in a dirty parking lot, at the hands of a stranger…

Like light ripping though the dark of a sleeping room, Kagome felt the grip on her throat being pulled away. She crumbled on her hands and knees, down to the cement. Sucking in the night air as best she could, alternated with coughing it out, she didn't notice for sometime the fight going on not far from where she crouched.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Inuyasha's instincts kicked in the moment he saw the girl's drooping body being supported only by her attacker's fist clinging about her neck. Maybe it was that she looked so much like Kikyou, or maybe it was just her scent, but Inuyasha's youkai took over at the threat of the young woman's death. Reaching up, the demon removed the hanyou's glasses, letting them fall to the ground. He didn't need them.

In one leap he was at the man's back. Eyes bleeding red and claws elongating, with one swipe of his wrist, the attacker was flying thought the air.

Not even giving Kagome a look to see if she was all right, he turned back to his opponent. The man had struggled to his feet, shaking his head as if to re-align its contents.

"Who the fuck are you?" He growled at Inuyasha.

"I'd ask you the same question. Why are you attacking them?" With his hand, he motioned to the two still figures and the coughing girl.

"That miko bitch made me lose my prey!" He spat out the word like it burned as he flung a pointed finger at Kagome's quivering form. "Do you know what that will cost me?"

Without answering, Inuyasha took a leaping step forward, catching him under the chin with a solid upward punch. The man was thrown backward, but only stumbled, tottering and not losing his footing. Twisting his neck back into place so that it crackled and popped, he glared and the hanyou-turned-full-demon.

"You underestimate me, half-breed." With that, he lunged at Inuyasha. Catching him around the waist, the impact tumbled them both to the ground. They rolled several times, and when they came to a stop, Inuyasha—even in the incoherency of his demon state—was surprised to see that he was being pinned down by a snake youkai.

He felt something cool and slick tightening around his abdomen. Looking down, he saw his opponent's legs had disappeared, only to be swapped with a long snake's tail. His eyes glowed an eerie green, lighting up what remained of his human for—the upper torso and hands of a man—now covered in green scales.

"Call me Christopher, dog," hissed in Inuyasha's ear.

Inuyasha growled at Christopher digging his claws into the snake demon's hands that seemed to have turned to slippery ropes of snake flesh that coiled around his neck. At the same time, Inuyasha knew his rib cage didn't have much time under the pressure of the constriction of the snake's tale. He had to hurry.

"I prefer women, but I guess you'll have to do." Christopher whispered again. "I'm very hungry." With his tongue, he licked alone Inuyasha's jawbone. Not one to take an unwanted advance, the hanyou's head dived at the offending appendage, biting down hard and earning a screech from the snake.

In the process of rearing back in pain, the demon's grasp on Inuyasha's neck loosened just enough to give him the chance to breath in a short breath. He quickly grabbed Christopher on either side of his head and rolled so that he now was in the dominant position. Digging his claws into the demon's skull, demon Inuyasha smirked when his opponent cried out in pain again.

His gloating him was cut short though as Christopher tightened his hold on Inuyasha's abdomen, cutting his breath off another way.

"What a weak dog," the snake hissed, practically purring now. "And a hanyou to boot. Do you honestly think that you could stop me?" He gave his tail another twist, squeezing more air from him and at the same time lifting Inuyasha off him.

The dog demon bared his teeth, little good that did him as he was now held too far above him to accomplish anything of significance. Another squeeze brought forth a popping in his back.

"When your spine snaps, that will teach you to meddle in matters that are not of your concern." A pulsing wring and more pressure on his vertebrae pushed a howl from the dog demon.

If possible, Inuyasha's eyes bled and even darker shade of red and he heaved himself at Christopher's neck. He managed to embed his claws in the soft flesh, but in the process, the snake rolled him again, leaving Inuyasha on his back and vulnerable.

"I've had plenty of dog in dry spells, but never a dog demon." Christopher whispered, this time choosing to lick Inuyasha's neck where his prey's fangs could do no damage. With that, he joggled his jaw, unhinging it to accommodate his dinner.

Crushing the hanyou's body even more until Inuyasha's arms lay limp on the ground and his head lolled to the side, Christopher smirked at the hanyou's weak growls and defiantly bared fangs.

"I usually consume my meals feet first, it is irritating on the digestive track, but I like to see the fear in their faces as they try to use their broken spines and worthless limbs to escape me. The cry out as I take in their heads last is most delicious." He cocked his head to one side. "But you have been too much trouble already. With honor for an advisory, I will make your death painless. You will—"

Neither the hunter nor the prey saw the attack coming, but the blast from the miko's hands was enough to send Christopher flying so that Inuyasha easily rolled out of his grip.

Kagome continued her advance on the snake demon. Her eyes had clouded over with a white glow. When she reached the spot where he lay, she opened her hand again, spreading out her fingers and sending another ball of white-hot energy directly at Christopher's head.

Inuyasha meanwhile lay motionless on the ground where he had fallen. There was a pounding his head, and he could feel his body fixing the internal bruising and bleeding. He tried to open his eyes, but there was some sort of light blinding him. Wasn't it night? Lying his head on its side facing away from the bright flashes Inuyasha was finally able to wrench his now-amber eyes open.

Where was he? He could barely see a thing—where were his glasses?

The last thing he had remembered was landing in a parking lot. As usual when he went into demon mode, all he had left was a collage of memory flashes, scrambled and out of order: the snake demon, the crunch of his ribs, the man attacking Kikyou's cousin, the man shifting into his true form, the name Christopher. Christopher, where had he heard that name before?

There was a sudden squeak behind him, and on rolling over, he was almost trampled by a leaping Kagome, trying to get out of the way of a now moving snake demon. She beautifully leaped over him. Inuyasha himself just barely managed to scramble to the side before Christopher came crashing where he had been lying only a moment before.

"What the hell did you do, bitch?" Inuyasha growled over at Kagome. He couldn't see her too clearly, but he could sure as hell smell her. In the past when he had broke or lost his glasses, he had found that to a certain extent he could rely on his nose.

They were both slowly backing toward the chain length fence, separated from one another by a gap in which Christopher was slithering slowly at them. He was upright, looking very much like a king cobra ready to strike. The green scales now completely covered his body, and he looked very much like a snake with the exception of his arms that still held on his shirt and jacket.

"I tried to purify him, bastard!" Kagome hissed. "He has an amulet on that protects him. I can't do anything until it's off." She stopped talking when her back hit the fence.

"Amulet, huh?" Inuyasha smirked. Turning to Christopher, "You want her? Take her, the bitch isn't worth my time." He stepped further away from the two as Christopher began to inch toward Kagome, his tail slipping around to slid up her leg. Sucking in a quick breath through his nose, he could make out the scent of his glasses—metal and cut glass mixed with the smell of his sweat. They weren't too far off, just a few feet really. He must have gotten turned around during the fight. Stopping as the smell became stronger, he reached down and carefully felt for them, until his claw hands come over the spectacles.

"Bastard! What the hell are you doing? When I find you I'll—" Kagome watched Inuyasha's movements in dismay. She stopped her rant at as the tail twirled around her, from hips to mid ribcage. In a voice completely devoid of its previous bravado, Kagome whisper, "Please, Inuyasha, don't leave me. Please." If he hadn't have youkai hearing, he would have missed it.

Still walking away, he looked over his shoulder at Kagome. She was the picture of fear with her face paling by the second and her wide eyes, but there was also a determination beneath her pleading expression.

The snake watched his departing form, and convinced that the hanyou was really leaving turned back to his prey.

Once he saw he was no longer the focus of the snake demon, Inuyasha winked. Though you could barely see it through his thick glasses.

"Where did she go?" Christopher hissed. "If you tell me now, I'll offer you the same courtesy as I did the hanyou. If not, you can watch yourself be digested." He leaned in and nuzzled her throat, giving her a lick with his scratchy tongue.

"W—who?"

"Don't play dumb, miko. The bitch from the club—my prey. You helped her get away, you knew she was in danger and you made me lose her. WHERE IS SHE?" The demon began slowly, gradually gathering sped with his words until he was screaming at Kagome. His body tightened around hers, pushing the air from her lungs. She strained to breath.

Her mind was flying, trying to pinpoint was the hell he was talking about. The drunk girl? That had to be it. Why couldn't they have gone to the bar instead of her stupid stand?

She was ripped back to reality, by Christopher hissing in her face again. "Well, where is the girl?" He drew another breath to scream at her once more, "WHE—"

stopped suddenly. He backed out of Kagome's face just enough to turn his head and see the inu hanyou holding a stone charm linked on a chord as it dangled from his claws.

"You—"

"Now miko!" Inuyasha shouted at her.

Stunned for only a moment, Kagome quickly recovered and blasted a ball of white light at the snake youkai. As he was no longer protected by the pendent, Christopher was hit hard, and Kagome's attack easily turned him to dust.

With the snake's tail no longer supporting her weight, Kagome toppled to the ground in a heap. Inuyasha looked at her, then over his shoulder at the still-out Miroku and Sango. Despite being "unconscious," Miroku's hand had somehow found its way to his girlfriend's hip where it rested peacefully. Until she woke up.

They seemed to be sleeping from their scent—a heavy sleep, but sleep all the same. They were fine.

The miko on the other hand reeked of blood. It was so strong that it cloaked the natural, scent of her holy standing.

He walked over to where Kagome was crouching and stooped down to her level. "Hey, wench? You okay?" She lifted her ducked head at his words and nodded. Inuyasha was surprised to see that during the fight he had somehow forgotten how much she looked like Kikyou; that she was Kikyou's cousin. Offering her a hand, the two stood and began to make their way to Sango and Miroku.

Kagome knelt down beside Sango, and Inuyasha nudged Miroku with his foot. When he didn't respond, he gave him a somewhat harder kick that in the process jolted his glasses to the peak of his nose. It still didn't do any good.

"They smell like they're sleeping…" Inuyasha mused.

"But they aren't waking up," Kagome finished. "Let me try something." She carefully rolled up her sleeves and placed her palms on Sango's temples. Drawing in a deep breath and closing her eyes, she willed her energy to her fingertips while at the same time rubbing gentle circles on her friend's skin. Inuyasha was about demand what the hell she was trying to do when Sango's eyes fluttered open as she gasped for fresh air.

Without looking at Inuyasha, she moved to Miroku, following a similar pattern of movements. "The youkai used his own energy to knock them back. Unconsciousness is a common side effect of a demon attack."

"So what are you doing?" Inuyasha grunted.

"Purifying them: cleaning out the youkai energy that imbalances their human essence." She sat back as Miroku began blinking, and stiffly attempted to sit up.

"What happened?" he asked. He rubbed the side of his hand and tilted to the side to check and make sure Sango was all right.

"A snake youkai attacked us. I think he was one of my customers from earlier." Kagome stood then reached down to help pull up Sango. Kagome tottered a bit herself, but Inuyasha grasped her arm to steady her. Looking at him a little surprised, she gave him a soft smile.

"Bad fortune?" Sango asked, clamping her hand over her forehead.

"He was trying to get a girl into bed. I gave her a chance to get away and she took it." Kagome's brow scrunched. "She said he had been following her."

"Whatever he was doing, we'll have to report this," Miroku sighed.

Relations between demons and humans had always been shaky. The rule of thumb was that the two races go their separate paths, even if they were living side by side. When the invisible line that always existed between them was crossed in the form of a crime, it had been agreed that humans would generally be considered the victims. This was unless the demon a child, injured, or underdeveloped in some other fashion. Though when the laws were first written in this manner it seemed greatly unfair to the youkai community. However with time and intermarriage between a demon and ever-shrinking human population, they seemed to be just was needed, not to mention necessary. Though Kagome was a miko, she was human first and foremost. Inuyasha as a hanyou also could received immunity in many legal matters because of his human blood, and his standing wasn't hurt when humans could vouch that he defended them.

Kagome nodded to Miroku, and began to fiddle with her pockets, finally pulling out a cell phone. She blew the dust off it, and , skimming though her contacts list, she called a number. "Yes, human-youkai affairs? Good. I have something to report…"

An hour later, three retellings of the tale, finger printing, multiple runnings of Kagome's miko license and Inuyasha's hanyou identification card, and several viewings of their various bruises, cuts, and scraps, they were finally cleared to leave. The officers looked at the dust that had been the demon, said that there really wasn't anything that could be done when a demon went haywire, and released them. If they had attacked the snake youkai out of malice and not self-defense, why would they call it in instead of just leaving? There were few who would be able to identify the snake dust as anything other than street dirt.

The group made their way back to Kagome's car. Inuyasha drove as he was the least injured, dropping Miroku and Sango off at her car, then speeding through the city streets to Kagome's apartment. She looked at him quizzically when he refused her offer to borrow her phone to get a cab.

"I need a good run," he said with a sheepish shrug. He turned to go, but paused, "Hey wench, are you sure you're all right? You got knocked around a bit back there."

Kagome looked at him for a moment, a puzzled look on her face. Was this the same guy that hours earlier couldn't stand to be in her presence? It had to be—she had never seen glasses like that on a hanyou before. "I'm fine. Miko powers are pretty handy. Helping others helps the priestess," she said with a little smile, fiddling with an invisible piece of fuzz. "As long as I use my gifts for good, my gifts take care of me. I helped you, I healed Miroku and Sango. The positive energy healed me."

Inuyasha nodded. She was right, the stench of blood had left her, replaced with an odor acquainted with healing. He had never heard Kikyou talk of such things. Waving good night, he sprung out into the air.

Kagome watched him until he disappeared into the darkness, then made her way to her own apartment. The instant she shut the door behind her, she knew she wasn't alone. Cautiously stepping into her living room she wasn't really surprised to find herself looking into the mirror image that was sitting on her couch. Granted a colder, cheerless, but none-the-less more poised mirror image, but still the one member of her family who could pass as her twin.

There on her couch was Kikyou, calmly smoking a cigarette as if she was permitted that liberty, not to mention as though the apartment belonged to her.

"Out a little late, Kagome?"

**A/N: **Okay, I was kinda a bitch, demanding reviews for updates. Then I found a story I had written a few nights ago and forgotten. It kinda deals with the news right now, so I though it would be best to post it now, and not later. Besides, you should write not for glory, but because you want to. That being said, here's the update. I promise I'll try to have Chapter 5 up before the end of July—I can't take my computer to China. There should be some plot in the next installment, this one sure as hell didn't. You might want to read the other fic, after I reread it, I realized that it was a nicer version of what part of Chapter 5 would be like. I'm really too nervous about flying to care.


	5. Couches and Conniving Cousins

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha.

A/N: I'm back, but I'm not sure if I can chug out chapters as fast or as "good" as before, mainly because I'm not a nervous wreck to fuel my writing. Urg, I think I've caught my roommate's cold while in China. Since I don't feel like doing anything other than lying in my bed and cursing CNN for telling me about more bombings in London (I was planning on studying abroad there spring semester, but now maybe not) you guys are quite lucky. Instead of unpacking or finishing my travel journal, I'm working on mindless fanfiction because really that's all I'm up for.

Also, just so you know, I have no clue about accounting firms. Though I could do research, I'm too lazy and it probably wouldn't fit my scenario any way, so just excuse any mistakes in that respect as artistic license.

Chapter 5 

Inuyasha spit into the washroom sink. He looked at his image in the mirror as he continued to brush his teeth. One more promotion and he would have an office with a washroom of its own so when he had his sleepovers at the accounting firm he wouldn't have to use the public restroom. Tonight, like every other night for the past month, the night janitors had given him that look that told him that they thought he was crazy.

He spit out the last of the toothpaste foam and rinsed out his mouth, growling while doing so.

Just when he thought he might be able to stop sleeping here and move his things back to his apartment, this had to happen.

He had to meet a woman who not only had the approval of his nose, but also looked like a fucking copy of Kikyou.

Kikyou.

Her cousin looked too much like her for his own good. They could have been twins for all he knew.

Except twins smelled alike and the "cousins," though both tolerable to his nose, had completely different scents.

As he brooded, Inuyasha made his way back down the hall to his office. At least he had made is way up in the firm enough to have a room with a couch. He undid his tie and took off his jacket and shoes then lay down, sinking into the sleek leather. Closing his eyes he prepared himself to sleep.

Unfortunately, he could only see _her_ face. The girl's smell filled his nose again, almost as if she were standing in the room with him. He peeked though his eyelids just to check, but no: he was alone.

Shit.

This was not a good sign. It had been like that when he first met Kikyou, but the mental willing her to be there with him had not been as strong. There had only been a whiff of scent for Kikyou, her image had only been a dull picture, distorted in his mind. Not the colorful fragrance and beautifully clear image of Kikyou's cousin.

All signs pointed to the fact that his youkai was seeking out the new miko.

XXXXXXXXXX

Kagome stared at her cousin for several moments, unable to find her voice.

"Wh—what are you doing here?" She finally stammered out.

"I was in the neighborhood," Kikyou took a particularly long drag off her cigarette. "How was work?"

"It was…work was fine." Kagome clutched her bag tightly in her hands. She hadn't seen Kikyou on a regular basis since childhood. Now as an adult, they maybe met up once every second or third month to keep in touch.

"That's good. And school?"

"Kikyou, its really late, I've had a rough night. What's with the chit-chat after braking into my apartment?" Kagome asked cautiously. Running shaky fingers through her hair, she finally got her bearings enough to take a seat in the over stuffed chair across from the couch. Evil snake demons wanting to strangle the life out of her, that was one thing—she had been trained for that. Her cousin dropping out of the blue to have girl talk and presumably kill her slowly was in a category of its own.

"Fine, I'll get to the point." Kikyou put out her cigarette. "You crossed a very dangerous line tonight, Kagome." She leaned back into the couch. By the light in her eyes, what she had said was supposed to have some sort of meaning.

Kagome had no idea what she was talking about.

"A line Kikyou? Did you draw a line across the city, and I accidentally set foot on your side?" She remembered the summer Kikyou had stayed with her family. Her cousin had divided Kagome's room in half without telling her, and then pitched a fit when she invaded Kikyou's side to get out the door. Invasion of privacy.

"In a manner of speaking. Tonight you were in a scuffle with one of my men—all you left of him was dust. Do you know what that means?"

Kagome shook her head. _One of my men_? That had been a snake youkai she had fought. A youkai, a demon. Kikyou didn't associate with demons; she thought it against the natural order. The night had just taken a turn for the insanely weird.

"Normally it would mean that, so to speak, you're in deep shit, cousin." Kikyou sucked off the end of her cigarette. "But in your case, it shows that you are worthy. We're going after the Shikon no Tama."

Kikyou lit another smoke as she let her words sink in.

Kagome slumped back in her chair dumb founded. The Shikon no Tama, the Jewel of Four Souls. It was a powerful stone, but only good for demons and mikos. To mere humans it was only a bargaining chip, but for powerful magical entities it could make them in invincible. And Kikyou was after it. In the hands of a weak miko like her cousin, Kagome wasn't sure how useful it would be, but…something Kikyou had just said rang in her ears.

"_We_? You said _we're_ looking for the jewel. You and who else?"

Kikyou nodded. "Well, I was hoping that you would join us, but I do have a partner already. His name is Onigumo."

Kikyou didn't notice, (as she was busy flicking the ash off her cigarette) but Kagome visibly shuddered. Onigumo was well known as a bandit and street pirate who dabbled in magic. Several years ago, he had been caught breaking into a museum. He had been found in the jewelry room, red handed with several scrolls. Kagome had been called in see if there had been any threat to the magical community, just as a precaution. He had been arrested before when he was trying to find a "partner" to summon the demon Naraku. But all he had had in his hands at the museum had been some fairy tales—nothing magical that she could see.

If Onigumo was trying to get the Shikon, maybe he wanted to summon Naraku again…

She couldn't let that happen.

"Onigumo?" Kagome tried to act calm. "That's an odd name."

"Yeah, I know, but he knows his stuff. So, you want in?" Kikyou beamed. She had no idea what she was dealing with.

Kagome thought for a moment. She could just report this to human-youkai affairs and be done with it, but what could they do? They knew there was a man who wanted to summon Naraku, yet they let Onigumo walk the streets. Hell, the office of human and youkai affairs had given Kikyou her miko license. She didn't trust them enough to handle something like this.

"You know what Kikyou? I think I do want in."

XXXXXXXXXXX

Long ago, in the Warring States Era of Feudal Japan, there had been a power-hungry half-demon by the name of Naraku. No one knew from whence he came, not his bloodline or his family name or his home. It was as if he had appeared from nowhere.

All anyone really could tell about Naraku was that he wanted to rule the world, and by him ruling the world, he would destroy it. All Naraku touched was turned to dust.

In his first years of power, Naraku went on a bloody rampage. Everyone in Japan knew his name, and far too many knew his face. The carnage was extreme as it was horrible. He controlled armies of demons that even after they had been killed, would rise again with a gust from the wind.

Stories were whispered across hushed and minuscule meals and dark alleyways. Unlike in many tales of suffering and woe, the details weren't exaggerated. Many families were missing members and still others were wiped out completely because of this Naraku.

The country of Japan was filled with despair.

Then one day, a group of fighters, both human and demon, both mortal and magical, rallied against Naraku. A miko, a hanyou, a demon huntress, and a monk, accompanied by several full demons set out for Naraku's palace in the mountains.

None of them returned.

When months passed and there were still no signs of the warriors or Naraku, a small troop of soldiers were sent to the palace. They did not find the building, the warriors, or Naraku.

What they did find was an urn, sealed so well that none could open it. Set within the metal that made up the urn was a gemstone. No one could remove that either. Later, when the urn was offered to a priest as an offering, a small inscription was found on the vessel. It had looked strange, and none of the solders had recognized the language—for that matter, they had not even thought it to be writing. The priest however knew it for what it was.

The inscription read: "_To those who read: we were victorious against Naraku, but it has come at the price of our lives. Only I, the miko, survive long enough to gather our enemy's ashes and seal them away. Within this jar, secured by the Shikon no Tama, Naraku can never be released onto the world again. I am adding my soul now, the final human soul needed keep Naraku sealed forever. Protect this urn and honor our sacrifice_."

At first the urn was guarded well, but over the ages and changes of kings, it was lost, and the Jewel of Four Souls along with it. The four souls of the warriors who defeated Naraku and gave their lives to seal him away forever fell into obscurity.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Something woke Inuyasha in his sleep. Something wasn't right.

He rolled off the office couch and made his way to his desk. Stooping, he fiddled with the lock on one of the lower drawers until it popped open. He shuffled though the papers until he found a small box, and slowly lifted the lid. He hadn't looked at it for some time, but it was good to know that it was still safe. Closing the lid and putting it back in the drawer, he locked up the desk again and went back to his couch.

He still couldn't sleep. There was still something that was not right.

That damned miko's face floated before his eyes again.

Maybe he'd hunt down Miroku tomorrow and find more about her. Sango and Miroku had never liked Kikyou, but they seemed to take to Kagome.

XXXXXXXXXXX

Kagome flopped back into her bed. She was so tired and needed to get up early so she could study, but her conversation with Kikyou kept playing over and over in her head.

"I'm in."

"_Good."_

"_What do I have to do?"_

"_Are you familiar with Sesshomaru Takahashi?"_

"…_Yes." Sesshomaru Takahashi, the famous businessman. His company had been a member of the Fortune 500 since he was in his early twenties._

_But Kagome could have sworn she had heard that name more recently than in the news…_

"We believe his younger brother has possession of the stone. Your job is to charm it from him. Actually, I've tried to get it out of him before, but then we got another lead, so I abandoned the trail on the younger Takahashi. But now we're sure he has it."

"_And the younger Takahashi would be?" She was afraid to hear the answer._

"_Inuyasha."_

Kagome groaned and face flopped into her pillow. That was great—just awesome. Not only was her cousin paired up with a man who was probably trying to resurrect a demon who would try to take over and destroy the world, but she had to get a soul-filled jewel away from a hanyou who already seemed to resent her existence.

How the hell was she supposed to do that?

A small plan began to grow in her mind.

Tomorrow, she'd do it. She'd get coffee and find Miroku…and his girlfriend. Didn't want to piss that woman off. They would be her link to Inuyasha.

With that she drifted off to sleep, dreaming of Feudal Japan and a long dead hanyou and miko.

XXXXXXXXXX

A/N: Ok, yeah. I like where this story is going, but I definitely get the vibe from it that it's not the story that the title or the summary describe. I know it isn't the story I had in mind when I started, but it is the one that I was thinking about by chapter 2 or 3—I don't really remember. Anyway, I'm not a fan of false advertising and I feel like the title and summary could draw in readers that are looking for something different.

So **IMPORTANT**: I will be **changing the title and the summary** within the next few chapters once I've thought of them. **Look for it**. I'll also let you know in an A/N before I make the change.


	6. The Dating Game

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha, I'm just playing.

A/N: I am a fuckwit. Really, very very much so a fuckwit. In the last chapter, I forgot to write in the fact that Inuyasha has glasses. I'm sorry if you noticed, and I feel like I wasted an idea when I put that character trait in this story. So don't go saying I plagiarized myself when I write another story or a oneshot with a nerdy hanyou in it. I like the premise, but I feel like the plot in this story overshadows it. Sniffle.

Thanks to all my reviewers, or like the three of you that excised your fingers enough to give me a response on Chapter 5. **Any ideas on a name change?**

Also, if anyone cares, I hate Inuyasha dubs. That is one point that Cartoon Network sucks on.

**Chapter 6**

_Sunday Morning_

Kagome fiddled with the buttons on her cell phone, chewing on her lip all the while. She had forgotten how difficult dating was, and for a moment at least, missed her ex. For a moment, she wished that she had just called human-youkai affairs the night before, or that Kikyou hadn't let her in on her search for the Shikon no Tama.

But no, she wasn't that kind of person—one who just set back and let a doomsday demon be reborn into this world and era. If saving the people of earth meant rubbing elbows with a seemingly disgruntled and broken-hearted hanyou, Kagome Higurashi would be first in line to do it.

She was a miko after all, who better to handle the situation?

With her internal pep talk completed, Kagome hit her cell phone send button on the number she had spent the better part of the morning trying to locate. Miroku, it seemed didn't want to be found, or at least not his number. But that was common for people in the extermination-purification business. You don't want potential prey finding you before you could hunt them. Holy beings and hunters usually kept a low profile and got business through referrals, not by having a listing in the yellow pages.

The phone line on the other end rang…once…twice…thr— "Hello? This is Miroku speaking, can I help you?"

Kagome felt herself smile. How had they lost touch? She missed Miroku, he had been like a brother to her; she really didn't know what her family would have done after her father had passed if he hadn't been there for them.

"Hey, how's it going?" Kagome toyed. She hoped that he'd recognize her voice, but when she was only met with a pause, she was afraid she'd have to go through with an introduction. Miroku, in the end however, came through.

"Kagome? Is that you?"

"Yeah," Kagome said sheepishly.

"I thought I might hear from you, but not this soon." Miroku sounded edgy.

"Yeah, I know," she sighed, trying to sound casual. "Its just, I kinda wanted to play catch-up with you and your girlfriend, and that snake demon got in the way." She took a breath, chanting in her mind _Shikon no Tama, doomsday demon, Shikon no Tama, doomsday demon_. "I thought we could meet up again, maybe next weekend?" Kagome breathed deep, if he said no, she was going to have to beg. Even if he said yes, she still had to find a way to get Inuyasha Takahashi at the get together, and she hadn't been able to come up with an excuse. Well besides the obvious one. The one that most couples would jump on when it involved their single friends.

There was another pause on the other end of the line, then the sound of Miroku clearing his throat. "That would be great, uh…let me see what Sango thinks…" There was a noise, as his hand was clamped over the phone, then the muffled hum of Miroku's voice.

Kagome let her mind wonder as she waited. She was glad Miroku had found himself a woman who could keep him in line—the only other had been her own mother during his training at the shrine—she was just afraid that this Sango was smothering him, keeping him on a leash. But maybe that was what a hentai like Miroku needed. Kagome's lips twisted up into a smirk.

"Hey, you still there Kagome?" Miroku was back on the line. "Sango says this weekend's good for her, and she recommended the Taijya Tavern. Its kind of new, but her family knows the owner. Saturday alright?"

"Yeah, that's good for me…" _Now for the hard part. Inuyasha._

"And Kagome, would it be okay if Inuyasha came with us? He really needs to get out."

Kagome's smirk widened. "Of course, Miroku, I understand. I _know_ Kikyou, remember?"

Things were working out better than she had planned.

XXXXXXXXX

Miroku hung up his kitchen phone, turning to his girlfriend. "She said Inuyasha could come." When Sango only stared back at him, he shrugged. "They might make a good pair."

"Yeah, I know, they'd fit together just like, oh yeah that's right—Kikyou and Inuyasha." Sango rolled his eyes as she spoke. "Do you really put so much trust in her that you'd offer her Inuyasha like a sacrificial pig?"

Miroku thought for a moment. "Yes. Kagome isn't Kikyou. Trust me. Besides, isn't Kagome playing the part of the sacrifice?"

Sango gave him another pointed look. "What ever you say, but she better not hurt him. Do you really want to spend every Friday night of your life trying to find Inuyasha a mate?"

XXXXXXXXXXXX

_Monday Morning_

Across town from Sango and Miroku's apartment, in a very tall, very glass building, Inuyasha had long since begun the day. It was kind of hard not to when the morning security guards woke him up when they did their initial perimeter check at 6:30.

Taking another gulp of coffee, he took in the deep aroma. Along with the cleaning supplies they used in the building, it was doing wonders to clear the smell of the miko from his mind.

He had almost been able to get her face out of his head to by looking at sheet after sheet of figures for his various clients. Pushing his glasses back up to the bridge of his nose, he looked back down to the list before him, blinking to get his eyes to focus again.

No, he wasn't even thinking about Kikyou's cousin.

Unfortunately, he was toying with Miroku's number. Again.

Finding that he had already pushed most of the digits to call his friend, Inuyasha slammed the phone down, letting a growl rip through his throat. He took off his glasses and toyed with them.

A passing coworker gave him a raised eyebrow as she walked by his open door.

Today was not a good day. Slipping his glasses back on, he tried to get back to work.

_Are you doomed to only be attracted to mikos the rest of your cursed life?_

_It doesn't matter that she's a miko—its that she's Kikyou's cousin._

He had all the luck. His mind was having an argument with itself. And part of it seemed to be winning.

Inuyasha came out of his thoughts for find his clawed hand clutching the receiver yet again. This was what, the fifth time that morning alone? Not only was there an dispute going on inside his head, but also his youkai was trying to sneak a call to get him a date.

Things were going really well…

Maybe if he just saw her one more time, she would go away.

_You really are a simple-minded creature, aren't you? You truly underestimate yourself, hanyou._ He could practically see his full-youkai half leering at him.

The phone was ringing, and with his claws already death locked around the damn handle, Inuyasha was brought back to earth, yet again.

It took a moment, but at last, he was able to engage his brain enough to pick up the handle, placing the special earpiece next to his puppy-dog ear. It took another pause before he realized he had to say something.

"Saotome and Tendo Accounting. This is Inuyasha Takahashi, how may I help you?" Inuyasha could have smacked himself—he knew he sounded so mechanical he might as well have been a recording.

"God Takahashi, you sound enthusiastic. What no coffee?" Miroku's voice smirked through the phone. Inuyasha idly eyed the empty coffee pot that perched on the end table next to the couch. It had been full an hour ago.

"What do you want, Miroku?" He scoffed, not letting the young monk know the debate he had been having with himself.

"You have plans Saturday night. Change your shirt and get out of the office to buy a bottle of wine some time between now and then," Miroku instructed.

"Miroku…" Inuyasha growled as he rubbed his face with his hand, readjusting his glasses in the process. "You don't have to keep babysitting me. I'm a grown man."

"Inuyasha, you maybe a grown man, but you have been sleeping at your office seven nights a week for the past month. Someone has to look out for you."

"What if I'm happy at my office?"

"Why do you sleep there anyway?" Miroku shot back. "You and Kikyou…separated half a year ago. Why now?"

Inuyasha was silent. Miroku and Sango were becoming more and more bold with him. When he first started staying at the office, they danced around the subject even when they were dragging him away from work. Maybe it was better just to change the subject, it was too early in the morning to talk about that now.

"Fine, Miroku, I'll be there Saturday night, with clean clothes and wine." He thought for a moment. "There better only be you and Sango there though."

"You mean you don't want to see Kagome again?"

"Miroku…" Inuyasha gave a warning growl that the monk should have been able to pick up on, but still chose to ignore.

"See you Saturday, we'll pick you up at seven—don't be late!"

There was a click on the other end, telling the hanyou that his friend was no longer on the line.

"Fuck!" Inuyasha cursed, slamming the phone down. He glowered at the phone for a moment, then looked up to see that another coworker had wandered passed his door and was staring at him with a frightened look.

Great. It was a great day.

XXXXXXXXXX

_Friday Night_

In a less than respectable part town, in a less than reputable establishment, at a less than stable table, sat a less than savory character. In the dim candlelight, he watched a less than innocent stage performer do a less than virtuous dance, wearing less than the required amount of clothes to make her descent.

The man leaned over the small cup candleholder and lit a cigarette. Under the table his foot began to tap. He was getting impatient. _Where was she?_ The bitch was always late. Glancing down at his watch, he saw that it was already half an hour passed the time when she was supposed to be there.

Onigumo was about to leave: the stripper was boring, the smoke was so thick it was getting to even the likes of him, and he wanted to go find Kikyou so he could strangle her until she begged for her useless life. It was their typical Friday night. Having a girlfriend brought such wonderful routines.

He was leafing though the bills in his wallet to pay for the shots he had taken when his ears picked up the stumbling steps of someone making their way down the aisle of tables towards the one at which he was seated. Looking up he saw her, Kikyou. She already looked smashed, which wasn't good. The times that she was drunk were the times when she had the most clarity. Alcohol did something to the spells he had used to bind her to him—it was as though it disrupted the transmission of the signals that held her under his control.

Onigumo sighed as Kikyou half sat, half fell into the seat across from him.

"You've been a very, very naughty boy, my love," she slurred, her voice taking on a singsong quality. She picked up one of his bottles and waved the mouthpiece in his face.

Onigumo tried to resist the urge to pluck the bottle from her fingers and smash it into her skull. Not only did his domination of Kikyou fade when she was drunk, but she became

annoying as hell, pushing all of his buttons.

"You want something you shouldn't." Her voice continued its singsong pace. She tapped his nose with the mouth of the container and Onigumo felt a drop trickle off the tip. Kikyou leaned back into her seat, crossing her arms over her chest. Looking him straight in the eye, in a dead cold voice that lacked all its previous humor she whispered, as he knew she inevitably would, "I can't help you anymore."

Onigumo's restraint snapped. He lashed out at her: reaching across the table and fisting the shallow hair on the very top of her head. Dragging her to her feet, he let her hair go only to reach down and grip her pale throat with his callused hand. Her head was still bent down, her face directed away from him. Onigumo snarled, squeezing Kikyou's throat until he felt her try to flex her jaw: he knew she was getting nowhere in her search for air. Crushing her neck even more, he forced her to look him in the eye.

Kikyou's eyes were blank, almost lifeless. Just a side effect of the spells. When he first met Kikyou, Onigumo had been shocked that a miko was hanging around him—him, Onigumo, one of the most blacklisted men in magic. He had leaped at the opportunity to have the miko as a companion—she was just what he had been searching for, just what he needed to put his plan into play. But even then, in the back of his mind, he had know it was too good to be true.

It wasn't that Kikyou wasn't loyal—she refused leave him and would never deny him the use of her powers.

Her powers, therein lay the problem: Kikyou's powers were a joke. Not only did she not use them, he had a sinking feeling that she didn't really know how to use the gifts nature had given her.

He had almost killed her when he had that realization. Kikyou had already known too much just to be let go. She seemed to be too clueless to tell anyone, not to mention the fact that most of the binding spells he had used would cloud her thoughts, but there was always that chance…

Onigumo had had a place to dump the body, a way to do the deed, even enough cleaning supplies to get out the blood he was sure he would spill on his white carpet. He hated those pesky stains when he was entertaining his dinner guests. Hell, he practically had the knife to the bitch's throat when he had a stroke of (as he liked to think) genius. Mikos had to go through miko training, and though Kikyou's powers were about as useful to him as a shit in a box, she had gone through miko training. That meant that at some point, she had to have been around other mikos…she could lead him to another miko.

He had put his knife away, and cancelled his contact that was waiting for the body. He kept the cleaning supplies—you could never have too much bleach. Onigumo had to admit he was a little relieved he didn't have to slit her throat, in his own twisted black heart, he had developed a soft spot for Kikyou. It was nice having her around.

His opinion of Kikyou rose even more when she told him about her cousin. _Kagome Higurashi._ He knew he had heard that name before, but when or where was still beyond him.

It didn't matter. Kagome was a real miko who helped in running a shrine. She did the occasional charity exorcism. She really had the gift, unlike Kikyou.

Kikyou had been supposed to talk to Kagome, but for some reason, she kept putting off the visit. That was until one of Onigumo's men had crossed the path of the sought after miko. Chris had always been a cocky jackass, but he didn't deserve to be converted into dust.

But Chris' death had been the push Onigumo had needed to get Kikyou to go see her cousin. He had been so enraged that even though the haze that coated Kikyou's perception, she had been truly afraid of him. She had left for Kagome's as soon as he released her.

So now, a week later, Onigumo was more than a little miffed to find that he still didn't know what had been the outcome of the meeting between Kikyou and her cousin, and to top it off, she had gone and gotten hammered, so it was going to be even longer until he could get her talking.

He gave Kikyou's throat one final crushing embrace before he pushed her backwards. She stumbled, wobbling to get her balance, but failed miserably. She sat back into her seat that was not prepared to catch her weight. It tipped back, spilling Kikyou on to the ground so that her feet still hung in the air even as her head crashed into the ground.

Onigumo watched her for a moment, her weak attempts to right herself before the alcohol and the force of the collision got the best of her and she passed out. Strolling around the side of the table, he knelt down, scooping her up into her arms. He carried her out of the bar amid the uncomfortable—though inebriated—gazes of the other customers.

Yes, it truly was their typical Friday night.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

_Saturday Night_

Inuyasha trudged behind Sango who had just picked him from his office. Evidently the plan was for them to polish off the bottle of wine that was so important for him to obtain while chit chatting, then trek off to Taijya Tavern for a very late dinner as that was when some musical group would be playing.

They were still several floors down from the apartment Sango and Miroku shared, and Inuyasha already could smell that something was up. He nudged his glasses up a little further so they didn't slip off his nose as he walked with his head bent.

Miroku and Sango really were getting bold with him if they were doing what he thought they were.

Sango fiddled with her keys, unlocking the door, even though Miroku was inside. Ah the paranoia of being a demon hunter. The moment Inuyasha stepped inside, he knew what they had done, though he really wasn't surprised. His friends had to be tired of looking after his social life all the time. They were getting desperate.

The miko was there.

XXXXXXXXXX

A/N: Ok, I'm going to leave you guys there. I was going to write them getting together and all, but I fell like I've drug this out about much as I and you guys can take. That being said, I like this chapter, which probably means that you'll hate it: it is probably doomed to follow the pattern of me hatingyou liking/me likingyou hating.

As for the Kikyou/Onigumo scene, that really did come out darker than I wanted. Its just I wrote it after I came home from getting fitted for my bridesmaid dress. Not only did the fucker look like a trash bag on me, but also it was ugly, and I had to shell out $50 for fucking alterations. See, my friend had a freakout at one bridal store where we had these really pretty dresses picked out that actually looked good on me. But after her bitch fit, she switched stores and she let her anorexic cousin pick out new dresses, so now I have a hideous dress that makes me look fat. I'm not usually one of those girls that cares about stuff like that, its just in this instant, I'm pissed that I have to wear something in front of so many people that makes me look so bad. That and I had to spend an entire day with my friend and her friend who sucks your soul out with her constant blathering about nails, hair, her boobs, and boys. More about boys and her than I ever wanted to know. The fact that I had the I.Q. to write this is a fucking miracle…so anyway…point: Onigumo/Kikyou darkness is basically venting from that day of girly-girly hell.


	7. Distractions of Caffiene

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Inuyasha.

**Reviews**: _Crescent Venus_ asked about the alternative universe that this is set in. Probably since this was originally only a fluffy one-shot that fucking spawned into the atrocity that it is now, I forgot to develop the setting—my bad. Anyway, as I have it pictured, the AU that this is set in is basically a large city (I don't think it really matters which one) in a dimension were humans and demons live side by side. If you really want to dig deep, the human population is endangered and there are too many demons, so humans are more valued (thus the weak explanation as to why Inuyasha and Kagome can pretty much murder a snake youkai and get away with it—I guess it resembles Feudal Japan in that aspect) I feel like demons have more political power…maybe they have some sort of alliance, like a human/youkai ruling council. Anything magical (mikos, hanyou, youkai, etc.) has to be registered and have an id, but there are just plain human humans. As far as Kikyou is concerned, she went to some of the training, but you could say that she was the girl that almost never showed up for class. The Higurashis are an old family with some sway in the miko community so that she doesn't exactly have the license, but she is allowed to use the title. Finally, I think I mentioned Kikyou being a "separatist"—I'm sure I heard it somewhere else like Star Wars or the Civil War for all I know. Basically, it's a movement for humans/demons who want to the two species to live separately, its not that hard, and other than being a reason for Kikyou avoiding a relationship with Inuyasha, its not that important. As a separatist, Kikyou in her right mind really wouldn't want to bring Naraku into being, so that further shows how she's being manipulated.

As far as Kikyou and Onigumo meeting, I haven't covered that, and I'm not sure if I will or not…but that is a good idea. Maybe a flashback, I'll have to see…I need the ideas. Make sure I cite you as your idea if I put it in.

I think that's about it, but if you have any other questions, be sure to ask. I don't have it cemented out because the AU they're in isn't the most important part of the story, but I can see why it needs to be clarified.

_Princesslovealot_: Sorry, did not mean to offend anyone in the glasses-wearing community. Honesty, I like guys with glasses—maybe not Inuyasha's glasses in this fic, but other frames—so that might be part of the inspiration. And yes, he probably will have some form of a makeover, but when and how much of one, I haven't decided. As for Kikyou, I kind of feel like it's out of character for her to be the typical slut/bitch that everyone makes her out to be. Yes, when she first appears in the series, she is a bitch, but she isn't all bad. Basically, I try my best to keep my characters in character (hey, never said I was good at it—just look at Kagome), and writing a super-evil Kikyou just doesn't fit her part. The Kikyou I try to stick to is a women trapped in surroundings that were beyond her control and that gave her particular behaviors and ideas that she did not have the background or will to change. Blah.

Chapter 7 

Sango pushed the door to her apartment open, leaving it open so that Inuyasha could follow her through the entryway. From the living room she could hear Miroku and Kagome where she had left them half an hour before.

"…And do you remember the time when you botched that exorcism?" She could hear Kagome's giggles from the room away. "The one where you screwed up the water and everyone's hair turned that horrible puke green? That was awful!"

Looking back to make sure the sour looking Inuyasha had walked through the door, Sango made her own way into the living room to find Miroku flopped back on the couch and Kagome curled up in a chair, both with content but red faces. They hadn't moved much.

"Have fun guys?" Sango asked, slumping down into the couch next to her boyfriend. Miroku immediately scooted over so he could wrap an arm around her waist. Sango tilted her head in his direction, Miroku did the same, meeting her half way so that they each propped up the other.

Kagome watched the interaction with a slight smirk on her mouth. "You guys are just too sweet for your own good." Making fun of couples had been her personal favorite hobby since her last breakup.

Miroku blushed and Sango smiled and looked down at her lap.

Kagome wanted to tease more, but Inuyasha, who had finally made his way into the living room, interrupted them. He stood over Kagome's chair, sucking in a deep breath from the air that circulated around her.

Yes, there was no mistaking it, that was miko scent, and not any miko scent: a miko scent that lured him in. And that was dangerous. The last time that had happened, he had found himself with an engagement ring in his pocket and more misery than he could handle.

"Hello, Inuyasha." A cheerful voice broke through his thoughts and when he looked down, for a moment he was sure that he was looking into Kikyo's eyes.

Only these eyes were looking at him without that cool glare that Kikyo's had held the last time he had seen her.

"Um…hey." He sucked in a deep breath to hide the insult that rose to the tip of his tongue.

No matter how much this new miko looked like Kikyo, he couldn't just bitch her out. She smelled too nice. He sucked in one last breath of her scent and went to sit on the floor next to the television.

Miroku watched his friend and glanced over at Sango. The shared a smirk before Sango looked at her watch.

"We should get going. I thought we could hang out for a while, but _someone_ didn't want to leave the office." She said, looking at Inuyasha.

"I was busy," the hanyou defended, ducking his head at Sango's glare.

In truth, he had been putting off coming—it didn't take an idiot to know that _she'd_ be there. What in the hell were Sango and Miroku thinking? They were trying to set him up with a girl who both looked like and was related to the woman who was still haunting his nightmares half a year after she had left him. Youkai didn't let potential mates go very easily. Maybe that was what was bothering him about Kikyou's cousin. He had spent so much time mourning the loss of Kikyou's presence, then in less than a few hours with her cousin and all his senses had shifted their efforts to her. It was confusing as fuck.

Looking up from the floor, he tried to glance at her out of the corner of his eye only to find she was staring at him. There was something about her eyes…an expression that he had seen Kikyo wear before—it was like worry.

Kagome and Inuyasha's eyes locked for a second before they both turned quickly, both praying that their friends wouldn't notice the faint blush that crossed their faces.

Unfortunately, Sango and Miroku had noticed. Glancing at one another they shared a conspiratory smirk before revamping their efforts to get the two to the restaurant in time to make their reservations.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Inuyasha and Kagome sat on opposite sides of the table the group of four had been sharing. They stared out over the dance floor at a swaying Miroku and Sango.

Kagome spied at Inuyasha from under her lashes. He looked bored and pitiable as usual. In the heat of the restaurant with all of its dancing couples, the sweat was causing his glasses to slip off the bridge of his nose so that every few minutes she could see him move to push them back into place. His suit seemed particularly rumpled that night, more so than the last time she had seen him. The white shirt underneath the navy blazer was painted with a peppering of ketchup, mustard, soda, and several other stains that she couldn't recognize by sight alone. It seemed that someone (more than likely Sango) had tried to do something with his hair so that it was bound back, but in all honesty, it seemed somehow more unruly that before.

Skimming over all of Inuyasha's disheveled appearance, she turned to his face. He looked bored and perhaps lonely watching his friends on the dance floor.

"You want to dance?" Kagome asked loudly over the live band that played on the opposite end of the room.

Inuyasha looked over at her, his expression shocked enough that Kagome felt she might as well have slapped him. He shook his head no, and looked down at his half eaten dinner. Having _her_ there did nothing for his appetite. Every bite he took would bring in her scent, and his stomach would churn.

Kagome watched him glare at his food. Ok, so he didn't want to dance, but he still seemed unhappy…

"You want to get out of here? I want some coffee, and I know a place near here…" Kagome stood. Her hands were shaking and to hide it, she began to slip on her coat. For a moment, Inuyasha only stared at her and Kagome was sure that he was going to refuse her. He didn't seem to like her that much—he had hardly spoken to her throughout dinner, though she had caught him staring at her a few times. All and all she wasn't doing a very good job of getting into Inuyasha's good graces.

Inuyasha looked his hands, taking in the dirt under his claws. When was the last time a woman had asked him to go anywhere besides the receptionist at his optometrist taking him into the examination room? When was the last time he wanted to go with a woman somewhere? His mind rolled over the idea of staying here with Miroku and Sango, of telling the miko to go do unnatural things with a sheep, but they died before even reaching his tongue.

"Sure, I'll go. Coffee sounds good." He stood and pulled his jacket off the back of his chair. _What was he doing?_

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

The first five minutes after they had gotten their coffee, they sat in silence. Kagome stared at the other customers, slowly beginning to regret leaving the restaurant with Inuyasha. Did he hate her that much because of Kikyou? Probably. She knew she was just as bad as her cousin, trying to trick the poor guy like this. He had been through enough because of the Shikon Jewel.

But still it remained, Kikyou and Onigumo had to be stopped. Even if the thief had given up on summoning Naraku, Kagome knew she couldn't let herself rest until she knew that the jewel was in a safe place.

_The Shikon_, she thought as she made her resolve. "So this is a typical weekend for you? Get drug out with Miroku and Sango and spend the night looking bored out of your mind?" She said with a sympathetic smile, blowing on her coffee to get it to cool.

Inuyasha looked up at her from where he had been staring into his coffee. "Yeah, basically." He let his head drop back down. What else was he supposed to say?

"They forced to you come tonight?" Kagome pushed.

"Yeah, basically." He knew it sounded lamely repetitious, but between the coffee and her scent, he really was at a loss for words.

"Is it because of Kikyou?" Kagome asked, surprised by her own boldness. Quickly she waved her hand in the air to wipe the question away. "Sorry, too early in the night and not enough alcohol for that question, I guess." She took a slug of her coffee, wincing at the action as the hot liquid burned a track down her throat. "So you're an accountant?"

Inuyasha stared at the girl before him. Never had he seen someone's mind work so fast, or switch from rude and personal to polite and chit-chatty so quickly.

"Yeah, for now. I'm not sure if I was cracked up to be an accountant. Its too…tedious."

Kagome nodded. "You don't really seem the type."

Inuyasha raised an eyebrow. The fact that he was an accountant seemed to be one of the few things about him that Kikyou had actually liked. When he had discussed going back to school for a career change, Kikyou had always dissuaded him—she said she liked the stability his job brought _them_. _Them_, maybe that had been when he thought she wanted marry him.

He took off his glasses and began to clean them with a rag from his pocket.

Kagome watched him with a small frown gracing his features. "You know, I could probably heal your eyes for you. Miko powers extend beyond scrapes from street fights."

"I know, Kikyou tried." Inuyasha growled, his voice taking on a gloomy tone. "She made it so much worse—my glasses weren't nearly as thick as this when I met her." He slipped the spectacles back on as if he wished they'd go away.

Kagome stared at him, opened mouthed. "You let Kikyou mess with your eyes? You do know that her miko title is really just honorary for our family? Our family pretty much forced her to go through training—it was unfair really—but she should never have offered to fix you eyes. You're lucky she didn't blind you."

"You don't call this blind?" Inuyasha snarled at her, motioning to his eyes. "I'm a hanyou, it was bad enough I had to have glasses in the first place. I look like an idiot." He hung his head.

"Being vain pegs you about as much as being an accountant does." Kagome smirked though she was slightly shaken at his outburst. For someone who had such little regard to their personal appearance, he did seem broken up about the glasses. But then he was right, very few youkai—or hanyou for that matter—had to have any vision correction.

Inuyasha growled.

"Sorry, you also don't seem the type to give a damn about what you look like," Kagome said with a shrug. "Besides, I think you look good with glasses. Maybe not the ones you're wearing, but a thinner pair, you'd be quite handsome."

She could almost swear she saw a blush spread over his face as he lifted his glass to down the contents of his coffee cup.

Before Kagome could stop herself she found himself speaking, "I am sorry about my cousin. She probably meant well trying to help you."

Inuyasha froze, looking into the empty mug he had just polished off. Kagome checked her own movements.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to bring her up—again." Kagome shook her head.

Looking up at her through his thick eyewear, Inuyasha gave a tiny shrug. "Its alright. I really haven't spoken to anyone about her since she…left. They say it helps to talk."

Kagome nodded. "I know she's my cousin and I should be loyal to her, but being related to her—I guess I've seen the good and bad in Kikyou. She can be so good, but then she can do some terrible things." She shrugged her shoulders in apology. "I'm just saying that anything she did, I'd understand why you're hurt. Sometimes she doesn't even see when she's being brutal."

Inuyasha swallowed hard. "Did she ever—did she ever mention me?" He didn't know why he was asking her this, hell, he didn't even know why he was at the coffee shop in the first place. No wait, he did know _why_. It was that damned bitch sitting across from him with her bright, trustable eyes and her warm welcoming scent and her…

Wait, _bitch_? Inuyasha inwardly cringed, then let his shoulders slump. Great, now his youkai had move to thinking of her in the terms of a life mate. Perfect, just what he needed, another miko to puree any chances he might have at a normal life. Sooner or later the partners at his accounting firm were going to find out where he was sleeping and kick him out. Hopefully they wouldn't fire him.

Staring at him, but not seeing the hanyou's inner turmoil, Kagome tried to fathom why he was asking her this. She knew she had to let him down easy—he wanted to know if Kikyou had ever cared about him enough to bring him home to meet her family. "I heard about you in passing once or twice. But Kikyou and I haven't really been all that close since we were girls." On impulse, she reached across the table, slipping her fingers in the hand he used to clutch the empty coffee mug. "There is a lot I don't know about my cousin."

"I just don't see how we could have gotten our signals so crossed." Inuyasha said more to himself than the woman so close to him. "When she broke up with me, she said we had just been having fun. I thought we were a lot more serious than that…"

A pang of guilt shot through Kagome's gut. She was practically dragging information out of the hanyou. "You don't have to tell me this, if you don't want to," she gave his fingers another squeeze, "but I'm more than happy to listen."

"Why do you care?"

Kagome gave a little sigh. "Coming from a family of human mikos, you get gain a sense of unity. You were hurt by one of my family so I feel like I might be partly responsible. Maybe if I had been there for Kikyou more, she wouldn't have toyed with you the way she did." Kagome inwardly cringed. What was she saying?

"So you pity me, and that's why you're here?"

"I don't know. Maybe I am trying to clean up my cousin's mess, but then you never know, maybe I like hanyou with thick glasses." She flashed him a teasing smile while mentally smashing her forehead with the palm of her hand.

_No one is dumb enough to buy that._

To Kagome's great surprise, he did buy it. She watched, both amused and stunned to see a light blush cross his cheeks. _This guy needs a girlfriend_.

Kagome felt herself blush as her brain continued: _you could be it._

_No, he's not ready, and neither am I._

She smile back at Inuyasha. Perhaps next time she could enter the Shikon no Tama into the conversation.

_Next time…_For some reason the thought made her smile.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

GAAAA! Runs and brushes teeth, trying to protect them from fluff induced cavities.

**A/N:** Ok, I know that that wasn't filled with the fluff level most fanfic fans are used to, but it was a lot more than I'm used to writing. To be honest, I use fanfiction as a guinea pig for scenarios I'm not comfortable writing—fluffiness being one of them—for my own original stories. Sorry you guys have to be my screeners.

**Important**: I'm going back to school on Saturday, so writing is going to become scarce. I like to read a lot of fanfic, but I'm going to try and cut back this semester so I can spend more time writing. Unfortunately with friends and class and work (hopefully) and homework, I'm not going to have as much spare brain chemicals as I'd like, so this is where you guys come in. Send me ideas or things you'd like to happen in this or my other fic! Half my problem with writing during the semester is writer's block—I either run dry or only write more mundane shit than usual. Help me, and I'll try not to leave you hanging. Finally, if I do use your idea, please make sure I cite you!

In conclusion, has Media Miner been screwing up for anyone else? I get my reviews, but I haven't had an author/story update since July. I know for a fact that several of my favorite stories have been updated, but I had to manually check it. Maybe I just fucked up a setting on my profile…who knows?


	8. Small Time Crime

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Inuyasha. Har. Har. Har.

**A/N:** Thanks to those who reviewed!

As for everyone else whose fingers must be inexplicably broken, don't make me beg. Come on my bitches and babes! Show me some love!

**Chapter 8**

It was long passed midnight and two figures were weaving their way through an ancient graveyard. One was cloaked in a whitish fur; the other openly wore miko robes for all to see.

They trudged through the rows and rows of tombstones, making their way despite the ground being mushy with mud from the resent rains. The dampness really didn't bother them, they had been waiting for the heavens to open and pour water onto the earth—they needed the soil to be soft.

The man wearing the fur paused before one particularly large grave marker, one that long ago must have been quite grand. In the stone had been carved a crescent moon hanging high under the sky that rested over a large dog sleeping underneath a tall and peaceful tree whose aura of protection radiated even from the cold rock. The entire scene on the tomb gave off a feeling of chilling serenity.

The man, for he was a man, lifted the hood of the pelt in order to get a better look at the grave. His brow scrunched for a moment in concentration before they relaxed and his face took on a twisted smile, a grim smirk.

Without words, Onigumo motioned to the priestess who stood next to him. She scowled for a second as she stepped forward and began her work. Yes, it was true that Kikyou's powers were useless, but when plied enough with spells and certain drugs, he could get her to a higher plain where she had the magic strength to do menial jobs. Tonight she was digging up a grave for him.

With a sigh, he looked on as the miko outlined in salt the area above ground where below the earth the coffin would lie. Her eyes were blank and she moved with jerky, puppet-like motions. It was sad but necessary to keep her this way, otherwise she might get away. It was even worse that being under the influence of binding spells like these would eventually kill her. Oh well, hopefully by then, he would have the other miko in his control, and he wouldn't need Kikyou anymore. He could dispose of her.

Glancing up from his thoughts, he saw that she was finished and waiting for his next command. "Go one, move the dirt!"

Kikyou nodded then began to chant. Slowly, inch-by-inch, the outline she had made began to rise, the rectangle floating toward the night sky as it slid slowly from out of the earth. Kikyou raised her arms, ands pointing upward, moving along with the hunk of dirt, bringing it higher and higher until six feet of earth levitated above a gapping hole in the damp ground. Still chanting, Kikyou slowly began to pivot, turning to the side until the dirt hung out and away from the cavity she had creating in the cemetery floor. Unceremoniously and without thought to the tombs of those surrounding the one of with the sleeping dog on its marker, she let both her arms and the dirt to the ground. Her shoulders slumped, her head ducked, she looked tired as she panted slowly under the curtain her hair made over her face.

Onigumo looked at the miko's handy work and grinned. Making his way over to the precipice, he peered down to the casket that lay at the bottom. There was just enough of a rim of space surrounding the wooden box for a man to stand. Without hesitating, he leaped down, landing lightly on the ground. Immediately, he began to toy with the lid, the only clasp and lock giving away easily under his efforts. Swinging the lid wide open, his smile widen when he saw the contents that rested before him.

A man, his skin as pure and flushed as if he were sleeping, was wrapped in a soft white pelt. His long white hair swirled around his face and down his chest making him appear much older than the youthfulness of his skin belied. Besides the hair, there were clear laugh lines about his eyes and mouth, showing one who enjoyed his live, however short or long. There were clear marks of strong demon ancestry in the pointed ends of his ears and the red crescent moon on his forehead that matched the equally red slash marks that appeared on his cheeks.

Onigumo growled, as he looked upon the face the old rival. It had been a different time, and he had been a different creature entirely, but the face still brought the taste of bile to his mouth, the smell of blood to his nose, the feel of defeat to his gut.

No, not now, he didn't have time for this, he shook his head. Pulling the lid off the second half of the coffin open, he found what he was looking for. A box, aged and tired rested under the feet of Inu Taisho. Greedily, Onigumo jerked the wooden box into his arms and leaped out of the grave where the moon beamed down on him. He could see so much better than down in the dark recesses of the grave. Roughly, quickly, he jerked the lid off the box. Onigumo scoffed.

The Shikon no Tama wasn't there.

Not that he was surprised—it had been a dim hope that the jewel would be buried with the dead dog demon. Though it would have made his life so much easier if it had been, he hadn't counted on it. The sly old dog was too scheming to leave something like the Shikon no Tama just lying around for grave robbers.

But what he was looking for was there.

A slip of paper, thick and yellow with age lay neatly in the bottom of the box. Something Inu Taisho should have destroyed a long time ago but for the fact that the gods themselves forbade it. True, the information scrawled over it was useless to him without the Shikon, but what good was the Shikon without the knowledge he had just acquired?

He unfolded the parchment, and blanched at it. There was nothing, nothing written on it all.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Kagome woke up early, long before her first class. Instead of getting up, as she normally would have, she lay in bed daydreaming. She was tired, she had gotten in late the night before after her long talk with Inuyasha. It was a bit unnerving: after she had stopped thinking about the Shikon no Tama, she had begun to enjoy herself. They had talked about books they had read, movies they had seen, music they liked. There were more than a few dead on matches in their tastes.

It was kind of sad that they had so much in common, and she was using him to get an ancient artifact. That and trying to worm her way into his heart anymore than a superficial level was going to be impossible after what Kikyou had done to him. Several times she had caught him looking at her, lost in thought. There was the flash of pain—remorse. Near the end of the evening, he relaxed enough that he stopped staring, but still, he seemed to be holding her at arm's length, refusing to trust her and seeing only Kikyou.

Sighing, she rolled over to come face to face with his jacket, hanging off the back of her chair. She squinted at it for a moment, wondering how it got there. It was clearly Inuyasha's—she would recognize the food stains on it anywhere. Slowly she began to remember the night before.

She was standing on the street corner, waiting for the cab she had called for moments before from the warmth of the small cafe. She began to shake a little from the cold—since they had been in the restaurant, dark clouds had moved in and it looked as though it might just snow.

As if to confirm her suspicions, a tiny white flake drifted passed her line of sight. Wrapping her light coat around her a bit tighter, she shivered. Should have known…or at least looked at the damn Weather Channel. Another snowflake, and then another fell on the sidewalk, melting on contact. It was cold, but it hadn't been cold long enough for the flakes to stick.

She shivered again, it was cold being tucked into only the icy night. Suddenly, there was a weight on her shoulders and she felt herself wrapped in a warm, though food stained and grimy jacket. Looking up, her eyes met golden ones, for once looking a bit sympathetic…sympathy for her. She whispered a thank-you, grateful for the warmth, but guilty for the fact that he was suffering the cold in her stead.

Turning back to the street, it was now barely cold at all, being warmed from with in and from with out.

Kagome smiled, snuggling into her pillow. She had had fun the night before—once Inuyasha opened up and stopped mopping over her cousin. Sitting up in her bed, she looked out the window. Lots of slush and some snow had stuck to the barren trees. Large trucks with scrapping blades were clearing the streets to prevent ice from forming.

Her eyes wondered back to the jacket hanging off the back of her chair. I should return it to him…. But I don't know where he lives or works. I could call Miroku, but him and Sango are probably still asleep…

Reaching for her phone book, she thumbed though the pages. Moments later, she had the number and address she was looking for. However, after a minute on the phone, she realized that Inuyasha was either avoiding her or not at home. It was still rather early on Sunday morning…where could he be? Of course, if the name Higurashi appeared on the poor guy's caller id, she wouldn't blame him for not answering it.

That only left on logical alternative: she would return it in person.

Kagome found herself on the subway, bundled in her coat and clutching the paper where she had scribbled Inuyasha's apartment number less than two hours later. Folded on her lap was his coat, now freshly cleaned. Looking down at the label again, she couldn't help but smirk: despite being a fairly nice jacket, one that he could wear to work, the damned thing wasn't even dry clean only. Men. It made her feel a little better about taking his coat in the cold now that she could return it pressed and clean.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Inuyasha rolled off the couch in his office. It was strange, the night before, he had almost went home—really considered it for the first time in a long time sleeping in his own bed.

It's because of her.

No. He was finally getting sick of sleeping on the damn couch.

She relaxes you, she's soothing. Her aura and her scent makes you forget.

No. She looks too much like Kikyou.

Say that a much as you like, you know she's different.

Inuyasha grumbled and rolled on his back to look up at the plain white ceiling. It was Sunday, good a day as any to go to his apartment, make sure nothing had been stolen, and get some clean clothes for the week.

Climbing out onto the window ledge of his fifth story window, he looked down at the freezing world below him. As much as he hated playing the suicide victim, it really wouldn't do for him to be caught down in the lobby on a Sunday morning. He could never pretend to be that dedicated to his job.

Turning so that he faced the window so he looked into the office, he took a step off the ledge. Falling falling falling, and then his hand were out and catching the ledge two stories down. Three more to go… Letting go again, he caught the window ledge below that dangled him a story over the ground. I hate this part. Sucking in a final deep breath, he let go, bracing himself for the pain he knew he would momentarily feel it in his feet.

"Cal-lump!" There it was, the hard cement beneath his dress shoes, shaking even his hanyou bones. He landed in a kneeling position and it was all that he could to just to stoop there for a few moments until he recovered from the shock of the fall. Finally feeling able to rise to his feet, Inuyasha began to make his way to the employee parking lot. Thankfully everyone thought his car was broken, so it hadn't been towed—yet—for sitting behind the office all weekend. Hoping in the driver's seat, Inuyasha sighed—it would be a long drive though Sunday morning traffic to his apartment.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

Kagome knocked again. Where was he? It was still pretty early in the morning—on a Sunday. Inuyasha didn't seem the type to drag himself out of bed to attend American religious ceremonies.

Rising her hand to the door for the third and final time, she resigned herself to the fact that she had made a trip across town for naught, and that he could possibly be avoiding her. Damn the door's peephole—it was like archaic caller id.

What if he is avoiding you? For some reason the very thought stung. She thought they had had a fairly nice evening the night before, and now here she was standing on his door step, probably spying on her thought the tiny glass spy-view, wishing and waiting for her to go the fuck away.

Wait, why do you even care what he thinks about you? You just want to save the world. Honestly, you don't even care about the innocents that will be slaughtered if Naraku is revived. All you can think about is they way he looks at you and the way you pray that he isn't seeing Kikyou.

If only he'd look at you and see—

Kagome stopped herself short. No, she wasn't going to think about that. Now was not the time.

Wrapping her knuckles against the wood, she was met again with no answer. She was about to turn and go when she felt a tug on her sleeve. Looking down, she locked eyes with a short, stocky woman.

"Need in again, Miss Kikyou? I'm sure Mr. Inuyasha won't mind," without waiting for an answer, she pushed passed a still surprised Kagome and, using a master key, unlocked the apartment door. "I'm glad to see the two of you back together," she smiled, and Kagome was sure that the little housekeeper was lying.

Shrugging at her good luck, she opened the door, and stepped inside. The rumpled look of her surroundings was what really struck Kagome as she stepped into Inuyasha's apartment. Rumpled not in a sense that he had been shopping out of the back alley's dumpster, but rumpled in a cozy way. The door opened into a small hall with a coat rack that then lead into a kitchen. There were still signs from the last time he had cooked, and from the layer of dust, that had been a while ago. Walking straight though the kitchen, past the open door to the bed room, she stepped into the living room. An over stuffed couch set off to one side, opposite to a television that had seen better days. Multiple dead plants cluttered the extra space.

Kagome couldn't help but smile. This place fit Inuyasha, even if he had let all his plants die.

She was reaching for a picture perched on the television when she heard a noise. It sounded suspiciously like the door closing, but was not followed by any other sounds that suggested someone had entered the apartment.

She also shrugged the odd feeling drawing her to the other room. It was so faint the tug was hardly noticeable, but with her training Kagome could recognize the feeling of a sacred artifact when she sensed it. Perhaps at sometime something has been here, but it was long gone now…

Turning back to the picture, she accidentally knocked it off the television. She watched as it hurtled in slow motion to the floor. Shit.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Something didn't smell right.

Inuyasha sucked in another breath as he stepped off the elevator and onto his floor. There had been a strange scent in the lobby of his building, and it had only gotten stronger the closer he had come to his own door. He would have thought he had left some food out to rot if the odor hadn't been so damned pleasant.

Fumbling with his keys for a moment, he finally found the one to the apartment door. However, when he tried to unlock the door, it dawned on him that it was ajar.

Pushing the door open, he stepped inside and closed it as quietly as possibly, but there was still a loud "click" as the opened locks slid into place. Inuyasha hadn't taken two steps when he heard a thud and the sound of breaking glasses. In a flash, he was out of the hall and into his living room, staring at a very guilty-looking Kagome.

"I—I—" she managed to stutter out before Inuyasha exploded.

"What the FUCK are you doing here!" His heart was pounding in his chest. For a moment he had thought that she had been Kikyou, and that handn't been a good thing. His hands started to shake and he did his best to cover the tremors by running his fingers though his hair. Kikyou used to have a way of getting into the apartment…he had been sure it had been her. What was stranger still was that in the instant after he realized that there was what he thought to be Kikyou standing his is living room, he had wished it was Kagome instead….And now here she was…

Kagome sheepishly held out the jacket. "I didn't want you to be with out this…its cold out."

Inuyasha opened his mouth to yell at her again, but he couldn't do it. He relaxed, letting his body slump a bit, giving him a dejected appearance.

"That still doesn't explain how you go in. Miko voodoo door lock magic?"

Kagome gave him a sheepish smile, she was grateful he seemed to have calmed, "The cleaning lady thought I was Kikyou and she let me in. I was just going to drop it off and go, but I wanted to leave you a note, then I saw these pictures…."

Inuyasha sighed. It wasn't like he had found her going through his desk or dresser looking for money, and though she did smell very nervous, her scent told him that she wasn't lying. She hadn't meant any harm.

Reaching out, he took the jacket, holding it up in the dim light of the apartment, he saw that it was cleaner than it had been his years. Kikyou never did….

He pushed his ex girlfriend out of his head. It was surprisingly easier to do than he thought it would be, especially when he turned his eyes to Kagome. She was staring at him with her large brown eyes, looking more than a little nervous. But behind the anxiety, there was something more he could not place. Maybe it was a combination of hope and something like tenderness?

"I…" he looked down at his clean jacket and back up at her, unsure what he should. "Thanks. You didn't have to do this…" He finished lamely, feeling very embarrassed. She was here returning something for his well being, and all he could do was yell at her.

Continuing to stare at her for a moment, Inuyasha tried to break his gaze from her form. She was the most appealing smelling woman he had come across in a long time and it was driving his youkai into a frenzy. Nervously he tugged off his glasses and wiped them clean on his shirt.

Kagome was looking uncomfortable in their silence. Clearing her throat, "If you don't mind me asking, where were you this morning? I—I tried calling you…but" she shrugged, "weren't here."

Inuyasha was caught off guard. "I…" What was the point of lying to her? "I've been sleeping in my office" he offered her a shy shrug, turning to the kitchen and trying to hide his face from her. "Coffee?"

Kagome stood stock still for a moment, digesting Inuyasha's words. Shaking her head, she was able to say yes to coffee, but the picture of him sleeping in his office was still a bit fuzzy.

"You sleep in your office?" She asked as she followed him into the kitchen area, watching as he made coffee.

Inuyasha flashed her a look over his shoulder. From what Kagome could read, it was some thing of an embarrassed glare.

"After your cousin dumped me and then after I woke up from the haze that brought on, I couldn't sleep here."

"So you sleep in your office? On the floor?" She took a step toward him to take the cup he offered. It was only for a moment, but her fingers grazed his own. In that moment, Kagome was able to see the thing she had been too nervous and afraid to pick up on before: Inuyasha had held the Shikon no Tama in his hands within the very resent past.

"I have a couch," he said, breaking her out of her realization.

Giving her head a little shake, she tried to bring herself to the conversation at hand. "Inuyasha don't let Kikyou get to you like that," she reached out to touch his arm. A bit of guilt flared in her as she realized she was doing it more to confirm the feel of the Shikon no Tama than to comfort the sad hanyou.

The guilt disappeared when she felt the tug coming clearly from him. He had held the Shikon in his clawed hands, and he had done so in the very resent past; the power his youkai had absorbed was still faintly there. There was no more guessing whether or not Kikyou was right or wrong, she knew now that Inuyasha had the jewel.

The realization that Inuyasha was speaking jolted Kagome out of her reverie for a second time.

"Kagome?" He looked a little concerned.

"I should go," Kagome muttered, brushing passed the confused hanyou on her way to the door.

Inuyasha stood stock still for a moment, his mind trying to process what had just happen. He frowned and his little doggy ears dropped into his head for the moment before he scowled. Calling out after the retreating girl, in a voice that had not been so assertive for months, "Kagome, wait!"

She had froze mid step at the sound of his command but did not turn around. A moment later Kagome felt a clawed hand on her shoulder, turning her to face the hanyou who looked as confused as she felt.

"Do you—do you want to go to dinner with me? We can go with Sango and Miroku…" His voice trailed off and he looked at her with pleading eyes.

Kagome's first reaction was to turn him down. She could make up some excuse, but just looking at his hopeful eyes that were so ready to accept her rejection and the drooping puppy ears on the top of his head, she didn't have the heart. He was just looking for company and she just looked like Kikyou…going on one date with the boy was a small bit of comfort she could give after playing with his affections.

If only you were "playing". You like him as much as he seems to like you…

She brushed the voice out of her head…She knew even if he didn't realize it, he was reaching out for the closest thing to Kikyou he could find, and she happened to be it.

"Dinner would be great," she found herself saying to him, smiling back at Inuyasha. "Is Wednesday night good? The club is closed and I don't have class until Thursday afternoon."

Inuyasha nodded, a small smile curving at the corners of his mouth. He pushed his glass back a bit. "I'll call Sango and Miroku and let you know…"

Kagome smile, leaned up to peck him on the cheek.

Saying goodbye, she left the apartment, making her way back to her own apartment on the cold Sunday morning.

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Writing this chapter, especially the last page or two, was like pulling fucking teeth. The first 8 pages have been done since October, probably September. The ending would not write for ANYTHING. Everything I tried sounded bad, and then all my profs decided it would be fun to give me a million papers, projects, and tests…so yeah. I'm going to try to keep writing it, but I will be studying abroad Spring semester, and well, I might outline some chapters if I have time, but to tell the truth I'm not going to write anything until summer. Sorry.


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